Ad Litteram de Libris, Literally Out of the books
by WinkyCutto
Summary: A daemon is release upon the town of Storybrooke, a daemon so cunning that no one suspects that all is not what it seems until it is too late. Can Emma and the others save David and Hook as they are held captive somewhere deep in the depth of despair. Not as long as my other fics but full of whump all the same... poor Hook but you guys asked for it so don't blame me!
1. Chapter 1

**AU. Takes place in a quiet moment at the end of season four but without Emma turning dark or having the ability to heal others and we find Rumple still the Dark One but he is unconscious in his shop.**

 **Ex Libris: Out of the books**

"KILLIAN!"

Belle's cries made his freeze in his movement as he tried his best to limit the damage he was causing, he winced as a few more objects fell around him clunking and clanging their way across the floor.

"Please... just stop. Stand still." she held her hands up in a pleading motion

She stepped forward and untangled him from the hanging bead curtain that he had somehow managed to get trapped in by several of his vest button which in turn had caused him to knock over a pile of objects that Belle was trying to identify and send them rolling across the shop floor.

"Sorry" he cringed

"Why are you here Killian?" she sighed as she freed him then dropped to the ground to start picking up the fallen items "Surely you have something else to do"

"I just wanted to make sure that you were alright" he replied bending down to help but as he went his elbow caught on the edge of the wall unit and sent a pile of paperwork fluttering across the floor to join the other fallen objects.

Belle just looked at him with a look of utter disbelief on her face "I am fine, or I was until you arrived"

Killian stood back up "I'm sorry Love, I just thought that maybe you could do with some company but somehow all I seem to have managed to do is wreck the place."

Belle looked up at him from the floor and her face softened as she met his gaze.

"It was a nice thought Killian but honestly I am fine. I just want to get this done."

"Where did you get all this stuff?" he asked looking around at all the piles of paraphernalia that littered every surface.

"I have been trying to find a way to wake Rumple" she said with a sad smile "but so far nothing has worked."

"You'll figure it out Love" he gave her an encouraging smile and she smiled back before returning to picking up the items from the floor

"Can I do anything to help? I promise that I will do my best not to destroy anything else" he grinned at her when her eyes came up again to meet him and was happy to see her laugh too.

"You really want to help? You really have nothing else to do?"

"Aye and no, you have my undivided attention" he raised an eyebrow at her and spread his arms wide to give a slight bow.

"Fine" she sighed out and pulled herself to her feet

"Can you take this pile of books back to the library for me? They go in the mythology section" She picked up a few books and held them out in front of her.

"That I can do" he answered with a wide grin but as Belle stepped forward to hand the books over there was a crunching noise from beneath her foot. Killian slammed his eyes shut and cringed before peeking one open to see Belle looking beneath her foot where he could see what looked like a broken bit of pottery. He bent down and picked it up, it looked like it had been a beautiful flower, a poppy perhaps but now it crumbled in his fingers, Gods, he was in so much trouble.

"Belle..."

"Killian, it's OK but PLEASE just go before you put me out of business" she gave a wry smile and held up the pile of books

He carefully placed the broken pieces on the counter and stepped forward to take the books from her hands. He felt terrible, all he had wanted to do was help and he had made things worse.

"Sorry" he gave her a serious look, determined to make her see that he meant it.

"Hey, if nothing else you made me laugh."she giggled as if to prove the point before turning her voice serious "Thank you Killian, for caring. I know this can't be easy for you, I know you and Rumple have a complicated history and the fact that you would help me search for a way to help him is enough"

She smiled sweetly at him and the burden of guilt lifted from his heart "BUT if you don't leave now I will call David and get him to arrest you for the damages"

"I'm going I'm going" he grinned as he moved to the door, Belle opened it and he stepped outside into the bright afternoon sunshine.

The sun may have been shining but that didn't mean that it was warm, there was an icy wind so Killian hurried across Main Street towards the library as quickly as possible skidding to a halt a few minutes later. He had to pull the door open using his hook as his hand was still clutching the pile of books against his right hip. He stepped inside and squinted into the dull room, he would need to put the books down before he could find the light switch so he headed over to the table and dumped them down with a thump but one missed and tumbled to the ground.

He sighed heavily and bent down to retrieve it but just as his fingers closed around the spine the book flipped open and the pages flicked back and forth as if they were caught in a high wind. What in the blazes? He jumped back and watched in awe as a bright light emanated from the pages but the wind picked up quickly sending books flying everywhere and Killian had to raise his arms to shield himself as a heavy volume thumped itself against his body.

Killian peeked around his hook and looked at the book still on the floor but that was the last image he saw as he was suddenly thrown backwards against the wall when the book seemed to explode before him. He slid bonelessly into a heap by the door and stayed there, books hitting his still body as a huge winged monster clawed it's way from inside the pages of the still glowing book on the floor to stand breathing harshly in the middle of the room, the wind stilled leaving bits of paper to flutter to the ground all around them.

It's eyes burned yellow in the dim light and it's skin looked almost like armor. It flexed it's wings out widely and rotated it's neck from side to side to loosen it's joints after being trapped inside the pages for so long . It looked at the Pirate lying on the floor for a second before tipping it's head and stalking forward but it walked right past and pushed it's way through the door, it looked down the street to see several people running towards it but it only had one purpose on it's mind. It bent it's legs and launched itself high into the sky and flew quickly out of sight over the rooftops as the people below gaped in surprise.

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David streaked his way across Main Street with Emma hot on his heals but they both ground to a halt when the beast emerged from the library doors and launched itself high into the sky before disappearing out of sight over the rooftops.

"What the hell was that and what was it doing in the library?" Emma yelled

"I have no idea" he called back

They both turned as a few more people ran up to their side, it seemed that the loud noise had been heard all across town but when Belle ran up with a worried look on her face David had to wonder what she knew.

"Please tell me that thing didn't come from the library" she pleaded as she took hold of Emma's arm

"Yeah, it did. Why?" Emma eyes were wide with worry, what was going on?

"Killian" Belle breathed out "He took some books back for me"

"NO" Emma yelled and took off across the street without waiting.

"Emma... wait" David yelled after her

But she didn't listen, she just kept running. He took off after her and was just about caught up when she reached the door and barreled through, he was right behind her now and they both ground to a halt at the mess before them, there were books everywhere and pieces of paper littered the floor. Emma walked forward and stopped by the elevator doors to the mines below but David's eyes were drawn to a pile of books just off to his right and when it gave a soft moan he was on his knees in seconds scrabbling to reach the Pirate beneath.

"HOOK!" he yelled out

Emma turned and quickly realized what was going on, she was by his side in seconds throwing the books across the floor until Hook's face came into view. His eyes were fluttering open and he gave another moan but made no effort to move. David heard Belle as she ran in after them and gasped at the sight before her.

"Killian... wake up" Emma cried out as her hand reached his cheek

"Swan? What happened" he slurred

"That's what we want to know" David answered

He watched as the Pirate's brow furrowed then his eyes finally opened to give them a confused look.

"I wish I knew Mate." Hook grumbled as he tried to move.

"Wait, take your time" Emma tried to stop him moving but he shook his head.

"I am fine Love" but he gave a wince and his hand found it's way to his head as she pushed him back to the floor.

"Yeah, you look it" David said with a sigh but he carried on moving the rest of the books and after a few minutes Hook was sitting up leaning against the wall.

"You alright?" he asked cautiously as Hook finally looked at him.

"I will be. Can I get off this floor now? It's not exactly warm down here!"

David stepped forward and helped Emma pull the Pirate to his feet and across the floor towards a chair that Belle had pulled out from the rubble.

"What happened?" Belle asked as they settled Hook down on the seat.

"I came in, it was dark and I couldn't do the light and hold your books at the same time so I put them on the table" he nodded his head off to the table that now lay on it's side over by the other wall "One of the books fell onto the floor but as I bent down to pick it up this happened, a howling gale picked up and then there was a blinding light but after that your guess is as good as mine, that's all I remember"

"Do you remember what book it was?" David asked quickly

"It was one bound in red leather, that is all I know but to where it is now I have no clue"

David looked around him, Hook was right there was no way of knowing where the book was but they needed to find it if they were to figure out what they were up against.

"I know what books I had, I am pretty sure that I can find it... with a bit of time" Belle said in a hopeful tone

"I'll help" David gave her a tight nod but then turned to Emma and Hook "Take him to Whale, get him checked out. I'll help Belle and we can meet back at the loft later"

"I am sitting here Mate and I can speak for myself when I say that I am fine" the Pirate looked angry but the minute he tried to stand he paled and nearly tumbled to the floor.

David jumped forward and grabbed hold of him as he slumped to the side "Yeah, you're AWESOME"

David helped Emma load Hook into the bug a few minutes later and watched as she turned the car around and headed for the hospital. He hoped that Hook would be fine but he had a sneaking suspicion that the Pirate had a concussion. He pulled in a deep breath and headed back through the library doors pulling out his cell to let Mary-Margaret know what was going on, it looked like dinner was off for now, they had another monster to track down.


	2. Chapter 2

**So not off to the best start, if you have already read chapter one please re read as I accidentally uploaded the wrong draft and there are slight changes in it, nothing too big but it does affect the story later down the line.**

 **As a way of apologizing I am giving you the next chapter early... enjoy**

 **Pugna Daemonum, Fighting Daemons**

Three bloody hours... that's how long he had been sitting in that blasted place until Whale had shone a light in his eyes and declared that he would be fine in the morning. Well maybe there was slightly more to it than that but the outcome was the same as he trudged his way back to Emma's car with a bottle of pills clutched in his hand. He closed the door with a loud slam and tossed the bottle into the back seat, he did not need them, he had survived MUCH worse than this.

"You'll regret that later" Swan said as she started the engine

"I doubt it. Have you heard from your Father yet? Have they found the book?" he asked urgently

"They have it. They're waiting back at the loft for us to get back" she replied as she pulled the car out of the parking space a sped off towards town .

Ten minutes later they were walking through the loft door to find the Charmings along with Belle and Regina all crowded round the small table. Mary-Margaret looked up as they entered and immediately came over to her Daughter and hugged her tight before turning to Killian.

"How are you feeling?"

"I am fine" he groused as he barged past her and headed for the book. He was in no mood to be mollycoddled. "What have we found out?" he looked at Belle for answers but was surprised when it was Regina who answered.

"Thanatos" the Queen said in a firm tone

"I'm sorry, what now?" he said turning to face her "Who the hell is Thanados?"

"ThanaTos" she clarified pacing forward and picking up the book and turning to Emma before carrying on "Thanatos was a winged daemon that was believed to be trapped in the underworld, he was tricked by Herakles and his soul was sent there but apparently that little tidbit of information was wrong. It seems that he was bound to this book but somehow something Captain Butterfingers over there did set him free."

Killian seethed inside, he had no idea how the damned beast had escaped the pages but he was pretty sure he had not been the reason but before he could retort Belle spoke in his defence.

"That's not fair, I have had this book for weeks now and it has never shown any sign of being anything other than just a book. We need to find a way of either destroying Thanatos or binding him back to the book."

"Well that should be easy enough" Regina raised her eyebrows high "Well the potion is easy enough but complicated to produce, getting close enough to him after we use it maybe another issue entirely. It will entail the use of ancient magic, it's similar to the magic used to remove hearts but this should allow someone to grab his soul and use a binding spell on it, that way we can send him back into the pages"

"You worry about making the potion and I will worry about using it" Killian growled from his spot behind Emma's shoulder.

"You sure you're up to this?" Emma asked in concern

"Aye Love, I set the bloody thing free so I will be the one to return it" his mood softened when he looked at her worried face so see the anguish across her features "I am fine Swan, I promise"

It was a stretch of the truth, his head hurt and he did feel slightly nauseous but he needed to do this, he needed to set things right.

"I'll help" David added giving him a nod of his head and as much as Killian wanted to do this by himself he knew that he could probably use the Princes experience with monsters

"Thanks Mate"

"Right well, " Regina said suddenly "Let's just hope that Thanatos is happy to wait until morning before he gets started causing havoc because this is a complicated potion that will take me a few hours to mix up. I suggest everyone rests up, this could turn into a difficult fight"

"I'll do some more research, the more we know of this beast the better prepared we can be" Belle picked up the book and opened it again but gasped when it fell from her hand with a thunk onto the floor.

Everyone held their breath as if waiting for something else to claw it's way free but nothing happened .

"Sorry" she whispered as she bent down to pick it up but she stopped short "That's strange"

"What?" Emma said quickly walking over to her side

"I could have sworn there was a design embossed on to the back cover of this book." She looked a bit confused for a minute before shrugging and finally lifting the book from the floor "Maybe I'm wrong, I've looked at so many books these last few weeks"

"Meet back here at nine am sharp people, this needs to be dealt with quickly" Regina said before stepping back and disappearing into a puff of purple smoke, Belle left a few minutes later and Killian walked after her.

"Where are you going?" Emma asked with wide eyes

"I need to rest before tomorrow, I was going to head back to the Jolly" he gave her a tired smile, it seemed that she had been right about the pills as his head throbbed painfully, all he wanted to do was go to sleep.

"Stay..." she pleaded and he could not resist her when she looked at him like that.

He smiled at her before dropping a soft kiss onto her lips. He could do that, for her, he sighed as she tugged his hand and led him over to the couch.

"Sit" she said quietly before digging into her jacket pocket and pulling out the bottle of pills that he thought was lying in the back seat of the car. She walked to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a glass of water and two of the pills in her hand.

"Please, for me. I know that your head is hurting... open book remember."

He cringed at her choice of words, she looked confused for a second then she realized what she had just said.

"Sorry, poor choice of words" she said with a chuckle

He took the pills and swallowed them down before leaning back on to the cushions, David and Snow worked in the kitchen fixing dinner and Emma walked over to help leaving him to watch but before he knew it his eyelids were growing heavy and he slipped into sleep as the medication finally took the pulsing pain away and left him feeling warm and comfortable.

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"Let him sleep Emma" David whispered as she headed across to the couch clutching a plate of food in her hands, she turned to look at him with a confused look. "I'll keep some warm for him but he is going to need to be well rested if we are going to bring this daemon down"

She gave a sigh but turned and headed to the table instead throwing herself down onto the chair. She picked at her food with her fork as David and Mary-Margaret settled down next to her.

"Give him an hour or two then he can eat and head to bed. Who knows if we will need to head out before morning or not so the longer he can sleep now the better"

"You're right." she said with a nod but her eyes kept flicking up towards the couch as she finally started to eat "He thinks this is his fault, doesn't he?"

Her eyes came back to meet his and he could see the worry there.

"I find it hard to believe that just dropping a book would do this Emma, we will figure this out, we always do. But, yes, I think he does blame himself that's why I think he needs to be the one to do this but trust me he is not doing it alone, I will be with him, I promise"

Emma gave him another quick smile but her eyes were back on her Pirate in seconds as she slowly ate her way through the contents of her plate before finally putting her fork down and heading over to the couch. She grabbed a blanket from the back and draped it over Hook's sleeping form then lifted it at one end sitting herself down and cuddling into his side. David watched as the Pirate stirred briefly pulling Emma into his embrace then settled back into sleep with his head resting on the top of his Daughter's head.

David and Mary-Margaret sat at the table and chatted back and forth for a while, trying to make a plan of attack for the next morning but before long their attention was back on the sleeping pair on the couch.

"She really does love him doesn't she?" Mary-Margaret whispered with a look of pure joy on her face.

"Yeah" he breathed out "but she'll never love him as much as he loves her. Hook has changed Mary-Margaret, I never thought that it would have been possible for the Pirate I first met to get my approval but here we are... and he does" he looked at his wife, reached over and squeezed her hand before pulling himself up and clearing the plates away from the table. He was just filling the sink with hot water to do the dishes when his cell rang, grabbing it quickly he jammed it to his ear and listened intently as the other person spoke.

He hung up and turned to his wife "It would seem that Thanatos was not keen to wait until morning, that was Leroy. He spotted the daemon out by the wishing well about ten minutes ago. He said that he had stayed hidden in the shadows as he watched Thanatos destroy the well, all that is left is the hole in the ground. Mary-Margaret Thanatos drank the water from the well!"

"What? Why?"

"I'm not sure but the water is said to have the ability to return something that was once lost to the drinker, he is obviously looking for something"

"We need to call Regina, this can't wait until morning" Mary-Margaret looked horrified

"You call, I'm going to wake Hook. This ends tonight"

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"You are just lucky that I had all the ingredients in my vault otherwise this would not have been ready" Regina spoke to the room.

Killian just wanted this to be over, the couple of hours sleep that he had managed to get had done wonders for his head, he felt good. Now he was just keen to get the bloody daemon back in it's book.

"How does this work then?" Killian asked as he stepped forward.

"You will need to find him first. Then put a few drops of this potion on your weapon of choice, do not let it touch your skin, no one here needs to be seeing into anyone elses soul anytime soon. The potion will allow you to reach into Thanatos , breach his armor and grab hold of his soul allowing David time to enact the enchantment."

"How will I know if I have hold of it?" Killian asked seriously, there was no room for error

"It will be drawn to you as you reach inside and believe me, you will know. This is not going to be pleasant Captain, you will feel everything that he has been feeling, it may be a bit overwhelming" she turned to David "Once he has the soul you need to say this enchantment and hold the book up to allow him to send Thanatos back into the pages. DO NOT DROP IT"

"Hey, I'm not the one that drops books" David exclaimed

Killian threw him a dangerous look but just ground his teeth together "Can we just get this over with?"

Belle stepped forward and handed the book that she hadn't even had time to study further over to David and Regina handed Killian the vile which held a bright yellow potion in it. He pocketed it quickly, he knew exactly how this was going to work but they had to find the daemon first so he wanted to get underway.

"I suggest we start at the well but if anyone hears of any sightings call us" David said as he grabbed his sword from the closet then headed to the door

Killian quickly followed David but he stopped when he felt Emma tugging on his jacket. He turned to see her looking at him with a worried look, he needed her to believe in him, he needed her to see that he needed to do this.

"Be careful" she whispered, she wasn't trying to stop him, she was just worried.

"I will love. Remember, if there is one thing that I excel at, it's surviving" he gave her a crooked grin then lent in and kissed her sweetly

Then he stepped back and followed the Prince out of the door. They thundered down the stairs and out on to the street coming to a halt on either side of David's truck looking at each other over the roof.

"Are you ready for this? I'm being serious, how's the head?"

"I'm good. Honest Mate." he looked David straight in the eye

"I'm trusting you. It's not just your butt that's on the line out there"

"I know that, I can assure you that I would do NOTHING that would hurt Emma so you or I not returning home is not an option here. When I say that I am fine I am telling you the truth"

David gave him a nod before yanking the truck door open "Well let's go fight another daemon then" he finished with a wide grin.


	3. Chapter 3

**WOW... you guys have not let me down with the reviews already. Thank you so much for sticking with me. This story is different to my others in that I wanted to bring a bit more of a mystery element to it. Not sure if it's working or not but I'll carry on anyway lol**

 **Furto Animarum, Stolen Souls**

They heard him before they saw him as a screech ripped it's way across the darkening sky, David clutched his sword harder in his hand as Killian dug the potion out of his pocket. The Pirate held the vile out to the Prince which seemed to surprise him.

"I don't fancy getting any of that in my mouth Mate, so if you would be so kind as to do the honors" Hook said raising a brow

David grabbed the vile from Killian's hand and popped the cork holding it carefully in his fingers so as not to get any potion on himself. Killian lifted his hook up to allow David to let a few drops fall onto the shiny surface and they watched in wonder as the metal turned a golden color before their eyes. David repeated the motion with his sword then capped the vile again. Shoving the remaining potion into his pocket they finally turned back to the path in front of them.

They had literally taken about four paces when another scream filled the air but this time it was a VERY human scream. They both looked at each other before bolting forward into a clearing where they saw the winged beast, he was standing on the ground hunched over what looked like an old man with a shock of white hair on his head.

They made a silent plan between them and David ran forward roaring as he went trying to draw Thanatos' attention from the whimpering form on the ground as Killian ducked low and crept in the other direction. He circled around until he was in easy reach of the beast and finally bolted forward, he could see David trying with all his might to stop the daemon's advances but Thanatos had pulled a sword of his own from somewhere and every attempt that he made to pierce his armor was met with a clash of metal but Killian had the upper hand so to speak, the beast had not seen him coming.

Killian ran quickly and launched himself off of a large boulder. Flying through the air in a high arch he landed with a thump against the daemon's back and clung on tightly to his neck to stop himself sliding off the slippy surface. Thanatos could do nothing more than shriek in surprise as Killian wedged his hook onto the daemons left shoulder with a satisfying crunch.

The minute his hook pierced the daemon's skin Killian could feel the magic working as a huge surge of emotions hit him, he screamed out in horror as vision after vision flew through his mind. He thought he could make out David shouting and a bright white light but everything was amplified, he felt like his body was on fire, his skin flamed as if he were alight then finally with a distinct pop his world went dark and he slumped to the cool ground with a hiss, smoke rising from his clothing into the air.

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David had watched in horror as Hook had thrown himself on Thanatos' back, he had been momentarily distracted from his task by the screams that had been torn from the Pirate's mouth until he remembered with a jolt that he held the enchantment in his hand to end his suffering. He had struggled to keep hold of the book as the daemon was literally sucked back into the pages with a loud pop and Hook dropped to the ground in a smoking heap before him.

David launched himself forward and pulled Hook onto his back, he was completely limp but David could see him breathing harshly. A huge sigh of relief rushed out of him but he realized quickly that he needed to get the Pirate back to town ASAP. He jumped to his feet and was just about to pull Hook up on to his shoulder to carry him back to the car when a low groan off to his side had him spinning quickly half expecting to see the daemon standing in front of him again but instead his eyes fell on the old man. David cursed himself for forgetting him in his panic to help Hook and he ran forward to help him as the man struggled to his feet.

"Thank you" the Old Man groaned out as he straightened, his eyes were wide in fear "What was that thing?"

"It doesn't matter, it's gone now. Are you alright?" David looked the man up and down to make sure that he was not injured, he looked a bit shaken but apart from that he looked fine.

"I think so" and David watched as he patted himself down then smiled but as he turned away his eyes fell on to Hook.

"Your friend did not come off as lightly as I did" the old man said then hobbled forward to come down on his knees next to the Pirate.

David watched as the old man's hands fell onto Hook's torso and his heart rate picked up as he watched, something was not right, it looked like he was handling something precious and David was sure that he had just seen the man smirk, surely not? But he felt uneasy now, who was this man? Where had he come from? What did Thanatos want with him?

He would need to find out later, right now he needed to get Hook some help.

"Come with me" David cut in front of the man, trying to keep him away from the Pirate "I'm going to take him to the hospital and you can get checked out too."

David gathered Hook up making sure that he had no obvious injuries before he hauled him over his shoulder and stood up but as he turned back to head to the truck the man stood in his way.

"I am afraid that I cannot let you do that" the old man said raising an eyebrow high on his head

"What? You can't let me?"

What was he talking about? David thought he must have misheard the man but seconds later it became all too apparent that he hadn't as the old man suddenly morphed before his eyes into... Thanatos.

What the hell?

"I need him, he is not going anywhere" the daemon spoke in a low growl as he stalked forward with his arms up.

David backed off and reached for his sword but his hand fell on an empty scabbard as his eyes automatically flew around the clearing to find his blade still lying on the ground where he had knelt next to Hook minutes before. He mentally cursed himself as he turned Hook slightly further away from the approaching beast.

How had the daemon managed to avoid being trapped in the book and how did he get inside the old man?

David staggered a little as he kept backing off, he had no other choice, he couldn't fight so he turned and ran. It was hard going with the weight of the Pirate dragging him down but he just hoisted him up further, ducked his head down and ran harder, he had no choice if he wanted to get them out of there in one piece. They had gotten quite far off the main path on their trip into the clearing and now David was trying to navigate his way back he wasn't really sure which way they had come but right now he just needed to put distance between them and the beast so he blindly ran through the trees hoping to see something he recognized sooner rather than later.

He heard the wings and a cackle but it was too late as Thanatos thumped into his back and sent him sprawling across the ground, David realized that he had lost the Pirate from his grip as he came to a stop, he needed to find him. He shook his head to clear his vision but what he saw when his eyes focused had his blood running cold, Thanatos was leaning over Hook's unmoving body with an almost feral grin on his face, he looked to where David was pulling himself to his feet and laughed again as he grabbed Hook and practically threw him over his shoulder.

David ran forward, he couldn't let the daemon leave with the Pirate but to his horror Thanatos bent his knees and launched himself into the air, he was going to lose him. David hurled himself after the beast, his fingers locking around one shiny foot just before it was out of reach but to his surprise it made no difference, the monster kept rising into the air and as he looked up in astonishment Thanatos just surged higher up into the sky.

The beast looked down with a sneer across it's face and spoke "Have it your way, I was happy with just the one but now it looks like I will be twice as satisfied"

David was caught between a rock and a hard place as they rose higher from the ground, he couldn't let go, he was too high up now and he didn't want to leave Hook so all he could do was watch in trepidation as one of Thanatos' hands came down and clamped itself around his bicep then yanked him free. He was pulled up level with the daemon's face, he could feel it's warm breath hitting his face as it's mouth curled into a cruel grin. He couldn't pull his gaze away from the teeth in front of him, caught in a loop of horror as he waited for the beast to strike but when it finally made it's move it was not with it's mouth. David was so distracted by the sight right before him that he was totally unprepared for the beasts other hand that shot forward and grabbed him by the neck. David's own hands instantly scrabbled at his throat trying to free himself but it was no use and within seconds his vision grew dark and soon he knew no more.

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"I don't like this" Emma said chewing on her bottom lip

"Give them time Swan, they've only been gone three hours. For all we know they might not even have found him yet" Regina tried to reassure her

"Regina's right Emma, there is a lot of ground to cover" her Mom gave her a hopeful look

Emma knew in her head that they were right but she had a bad feeling about all of this, she couldn't ignore her gut, it had served her well all her life so she wouldn't ignore it now. Her cell rang making her jump but it was at her ear in seconds.

"Hello?" she practically yelled down the line.

She hoped that it was news, When Robin had found out what was going on he had headed out with Little John and a few others to help look for Thanatos.

"Emma, it's Robin. I think they're in trouble" short and to the point

"What's happened?"

"I don't know, they're not here but I found David's sword and the book. I've tried both of their phones but they are either switched off or they have no reception"

"Where are you?" she asked rushing forward and grabbing her jacket

"About five miles north of town, I'll message you the coordinates."

"Great, thanks. I'll be there soon"

She shoved her cell back into her back pocket and threw her jacket on.

"That was Robin, he's found Dad's sword and the book but there's no sign of either Dad or Hook. I'm going there now. Regina I need you with me. Mom, Henry should be back from Grace's soon can you guys check in with Belle and see if she has any new information for us and keep trying their cells, maybe we'll get lucky"

"Of course... Emma... bring them home" the fear in her Mom's face was too much, if Snow White herself was worried it had to be bad but she couldn't think about that now.

She just nodded not trusting her voice and yanked the door open. They were driving north in no time as the sun was just starting to set, how were they going to be able to search in the dark? Emma gunned the engine and gripped the wheel tightly chasing the thought from her mind.

"We'll find them Swan, Robin is the best tracker I know besides your Mother of course. If there is a trail he will find it"

"And what if there's not?" she fired back

"There is always a trail Swan. If there isn't a physical one then we can use a locator spell but have faith, Robin may already know where they are"

"I hope so. Regina I can't lose them" tears stung her eyes but she was determined not to let them fall, she had to stay strong, she was the savior after all

"We are not losing anyone Emma, I will do EVERYTHING in my power to make sure that doesn't happen"

Emma hoped that the Queen was right, the thought of losing her Father after all her years of hoping that she would one day find him paled into insignificance to the fear that torn at her heart at the thought of losing Hook, he was her soul mate, she wasn't sure she could do all this without him.

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David came too with a groan, every part of him hurt, where was he and why was it so dark? Then it all came back to him, Thanatos! His hands found his throat in an instant and he groaned at the contact, yeah that was gonna be bruised but he couldn't focus on that right now he had to figure out where he was. His eyes went wide in the dim light as he tried to see into... the cave? It certainly sounded like a cave with the weird echoes that reached his eardrums. He sat himself up and noted that the floor was cold, slightly damp and not very comfortable. He gave another groan as he moved himself but it fell from his lips when another thought struck his muddled brain, where was Hook?

He pulled himself up onto his hands knees and started searching the area around him, he could just about make out his hands in front of him as the felt across the sandy floor. His heart was hammering in his chest now with every inch that he covered and still couldn't find the Pirate but just as he was beginning to get frantic his hand hit something soft. Fingers feeling quickly he found that it was Hook's left thigh he had found, the Pirate lay face down and didn't move a muscle as David groped his way up towards his head, not a good sign.

"Hook!" he gave the Pirate a shake to try and bring him round but all he got was silence. David didn't want to move him either, who knows what injuries he had that lay hidden in the darkness, he could do some real damage and not even know it.

"HOOK" he yelled louder and his voice echoed around the space, it sounded much bigger than he had first thought.

"He can't hear you" a voice spoke out into the darkness making David jump backwards scrabbling towards Hook's head and using his body to cover him as best as he could. He frantically looked around but couldn't see anything, it was just too dark.

"Who are you?" David called out into the air

"Who do you think I am?" the voice gave a giggle

"Thanatos?"

David jumped again as the cave rang with laughter, it seemed to be everywhere all at once, he didn't know where the voice was coming from but he physically jumped again seconds later as the voice was suddenly whispering into his ear.

"There is something different about you" it hissed "Him, he is exactly where I want him to be, sleeping soundly but you..."

David froze as he felt a cold hand slide on to his front, he couldn't move, wouldn't move not with Hook still beneath him. The hand settled over his heart and stayed there.

"You are an intriguing specimen. You sit before me yet you have no heart... no... you do not have your own heart. Someone else's heart beats in your chest."

The hand disappeared but the voice remained "No matter, this one has enough horrors in his to let me feast for months."

"What have you done to him?" David's hand felt out beneath him, he wanted to make sure that Hook was still breathing and was happy when he felt his breath puffing against his palm

"Worry not, your friend is merely sleeping" the voice answered but the laughter that rang out again made David doubt the honesty in the statement.

"I don't believe you" David grit out

"You think I care what you think?" the voice scoffed "I have no use for you so you are of no consequence. Now as interesting as this has been I will be on my way, I have things that need attention."

With that the voice was gone. David rummaged in his pocket and pulled out his cell surprised to find it still there. He flicked it on but had no reception, not surprising considering where he was but he could still use it. He fiddled with it for a second before switching on the flashlight and brought it round to look at Hook still lying by his side. Moving quickly he checked him over and after not finding any obvious injuries he moved the Pirate on to his back so he could check his front. Hook's face was very pale and there was a purple mark under his left eye but again no other obvious injuries other than a few red patches of skin which David assumed were light burns from earlier.

Deciding it was safe and they were no longer in immediate danger David finally sat himself down and lent back against the wall with a sigh, he needed to find a way out of here, wherever here was.

He shone the flashlight out into the cave to see how big it was and found it was vast, too big to see the other side. With a sigh he finally tipped the light towards the ceiling, he was surprised when it showed a high dome with a hole in the middle and now that he knew it was there he could see the stars twinkling in the sky above him.

This was good, it meant that when daylight came he would be able to see. Hopefully by then Hook would be awake and they would be able to see if there was a way out. He assumed that they were somewhere in the mountains or maybe by the sea, either way the cave had to have an entrance somewhere, right? His mind raced, he needed to get them out of there, he needed to get them home so that they could figure out how to kill Thanatos once and for all, binding him to the book had failed to work so it left them with no other options.

David's eyes fell on the Pirate again and he gave a sigh as he watched his chest rise and fall in a slow rhythm.

"You better wake up soon, I am not carrying your carcass out of here. I don't think my spine has fully recovered from our earlier adventure"

David stretched out to prove a point as he tried to knock the stiffness from his back before looking at the cell in his hand again with another sigh.

"Well, I suppose I should really save the battery on this thing... and yours too when I think about it." he lent forward and rummaged in Hook's jacket pocket pulling out his ancient flip phone, Emma should really get him a new one. He switched it off and shoved it into his own pocket before finally looking back at his own cell again, he knew he was being stupid but the little bit of light that it was giving was like a comfort and he was reluctant to lose it but he knew he had too.

"I'm going to switch this off now" he said to the Pirate "Not that you care, you are in blissful ignorance right now but just you wait until you wake up then you'll thank me."

He took one last look at the screen saver photo of himself and Mary-Margaret and he suddenly realized that she would see him through the night, he wasn't alone, he never was, Thanatos was right she was always with him, right there in his chest and right now that was all the comfort he needed as he held the button down and the cave fell into darkness around them.


	4. Chapter 4

**So you guys seem to be enjoying this, please bear in mind as you read the fic that there are a lot of questions raised but just trust me when I say that it will all become clear in the end... I promise :)**

 **As always please review.**

 **Vivens Somnia, Living Dreams**

Killian was so confused, how had he ended up here? He clawed his way from the sea to find his jacket missing, it must have been lost somewhere in the surf but he didn't remember. He slumped face first down into the sand gasping in lungfuls of air and coughing roughly as he tried to get his muddled brain to work. He peeked his eyes open and couldn't believe what he was seeing, this couldn't be happening, not again. Would he ever be free of this infernal place?

He lay breathing heavily for a few minutes but he knew he had to move, he knew it was not safe to be so close to the water or out in the open for that matter. He pulled himself up onto his knees with a groan and looked to the heavens above in frustration. How had he gotten here?

Deciding that he would have to worry about that later he finally stood up but he realized that something was wrong as he looked down to see his feet bare on the golden sand. Where were his boots?

Was this even real?

He sighed and brought his hand up to the back of his head feeling the bump that he had received the day before and pressed his fingers into it to find that it pulsed with pain, so this was real, he was really standing on the sandy shores of Neverland.

Moving slowly at first he started to trudge his way up the beach towards the tree line and every part of him seemed to protest the movement, he felt like he had been keel hauled.

He knew he was going to have to find shelter so that he could make a plan but he wasn't worried, he knew the perfect place and he knew just where to go to find it so glancing over his shoulder quickly to ensure that there was no one behind him he changed direction and started to jog towards the far end of the beach keeping close to the tree line. It was easier to move on the sand with his bare feet but it did mean that he could be more easily seen by any scouting parties that were in the area. That was if there was still anybody left on this God forsaken island, he was pretty sure that all the Lost Boys had left with them when they had headed back to Storybrooke but then again earlier today he too had been in Storybrooke so all bets were off as to what or who he would actually find.

He had been jogging for a few minutes when he suddenly stopped in his tracks as a thought slammed into his brain. Where was David? They had been together had they not?

He turned quickly, his eyes searching the beach from one end to the other but the Prince was nowhere to be seen and now that he thought about it the only footprints that he had seen on the sand were his own. Perhaps he had come ashore somewhere else... if he was even here.

Killian couldn't stay where he was, he just hoped that the Prince would be alright by himself in the short term as jogged on. Perhaps once he had gathered his thoughts he could head out on a scouting mission of his own and search in earnest but right now he needed to look out for himself doing anything else without a proper plan would just be a suicide mission and that would help no one.

Once again he started to jog north heading towards Tink's old hide out at Pixie Hollow just hoping that it was still there but a burst of laughter from the tree line had him spinning again staring into the thick foliage, eyes flicking everywhere trying to find the source.

"Who's there?" he yelled "Show yourself"

He raised his hook up ready for a fight but no one stepped forward and there was no more noise, in fact everything seemed normal. Perhaps he had imagined it? Moving slowly he started backing off more determined than ever to make it to Tinkerbell's. The sun was starting to drop in the sky and he did not want to be out in the open after dark.

Killian walked cautiously backwards for a few more minutes as his eyes swept back and forth over the tree line. In the end he decided that one way or another he had no choice, he would have to turn around and run but the minute he did he regretted it as he was slammed face first into the ground when something thumped into his back by his left shoulder blade ripping a yell from his mouth as he landed in the sand.

He slid to a stop on his right hand side gasping for breath as the agony continued to grow but he knew he couldn't stop, he had to keep moving. He clawed himself upright and ran, his life literally depended on it so he couldn't stop no matter what.

He staggered and stumbled his way into the trees cursing and howling as his feet crunched their way through the undergrowth all. Too many times he crashed to the ground as he scrambled ever forward towards his destination until finally he came to a stop about fifteen minutes later falling to his knees with his eyes clamped shut. He threw a steadying hand out against the thick tree trunk in front of him as a wave of nausea washed through him, his breathing was erratic as he rasped in breath after breath trying to bring his pain level back into his control. What the bloody hell was going on?

Eventually he managed to peek an eye open and look up into the tree beneath his hand to see Tink's home welcoming him in. Pulling himself to his now very sore feet he hobbled forward to the secret entrance and slowly climbed the stairs inside. The space was tight and Killian instantly became aware of the arrow that was still sticking out of his back as it caught on the wooden wall behind him. Curses flew from his mouth and he fell forward onto the steps as the pain flared again but he couldn't stop and finally a few minutes later he practically crawled into the small space that had once been the Fairy's home for far too many years.

He lay panting on the floor not really sure what else to do. He couldn't pull the arrow out by himself, he was going to need help but that was not an option he had available to him right now. He needed a plan but he couldn't concentrate, everything hurt too much. He looked down at his feet to see them in tatters, there were cuts everywhere, blood oozed from a large gash by his right ankle and that was all without seeing the soles, what state were they in? He sighed heavily again, as bad as that all looked it was nothing compared to the dark purple bruising on three of his now very broken looking toes, it would seem that walking was not going to be a pleasant affair for some time!

He let his head tip onto the wooden floor with a thump, he was exhausted and sore but above all he was confused. He had just closed his eyes, too tired to deal with any of this right now but they flew open again as a very familiar voice reached his ears.

"That has to hurt" he giggled

"You cannot be here" Killian gasped out in awe, this couldn't be real!

"And yet here I am Dearie." Rumplestiltskin stepped forward into Killian's line of vision, he was his Enchanted Forest self and seemed to be enjoying himself immensely as he danced his way to drop down on one knee in front of Killian's face. "It seems to me that you are in a spot of bother, here, let me help with that after all the one who put it there so I should really be the one to remove it, don't you think?."

Killian's eyes went wide as he knew what was about to happen, he tried to stop the Crocodile but he was too slow as Rumplestiltskin's hand closed around the shaft of the arrow wedged into his back and yanked it free with a manic cackle. Killian's vision went white as he screamed into the room then he just slumped onto the floor, his stomach retching as the agony streaked through his body but he could do nothing more than ride it out and hope that it passed quickly as wave after wave struck him.

After what seemed like an eternity he managed to open his eyes to find himself alone again, where had the blasted Crocodile gone? Killian could feel the blood seeping down his back and he knew that he had to try and staunch the flow but the only thing he could think of to do that was press his back onto the floorboards below him and that was going to hurt but at least it would get him away from the mess that he had made seconds before. He pulled in a deep breath knowing that his next move was going to be agony but knowing it didn't help or even stop the whimper that escaped him when he he finally flipped himself over and his body locked into position to try and stave off the pain.

Eventually his muscles relaxed and he just lay panting into the air with his eyes on the ceiling above him too tired move, too tired to think, too tired to do anything more than lie on the floor in a stupor and hope that help was coming soon.

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"What have you found?" Emma yelled as she jogged up to the group of Merry Men

"Not a lot, the trail just stops here. I think that Thanatos has taken to the skies again." Robin paused and gave her a worried look before carrying on "taking both David and Hook with him"

"How is that even possible?" Emma cried

"Emma, it gets worse" Robin looked apprehensive as he stepped forward and went down on one knee to point at the ground

"What?"

"From the patterns in the dirt I would guess that one of them was unconscious or..." Robin was cut off as Emma spoke

"Don't say it... I can't think like that right now. They are alive, they have to be." She looked at the marks on the ground and wondered who had been hurt. Were they really both alright? Emma turned to Regina.

"Looks like we need that locator spell after all"

"Alright, I'll head back to my vault now. It will take time to put together but I need an item from both your Father and Hook to use with the potion just in case they are not together"

"I don't think I have anything on me" Emma said as her brain tried to think of something.

"No matter Swan, I will stop by the Pirate's ship and grab something and I can use your Father's sword" she said with a smile as Robin stepped forward and handed the sword over.

"Thanks" Emma tried to sound thankful but she was just worried so she just stood back and watched as Regina disappeared into her purple cloud unable to give anymore than that one simple word.

"Here" Robin said handing her the book "We are going to head out and see if we can find any clues. I know that you want to come with us but I don't think that's the best move right now. Why don't you take this back to Belle, maybe she can use it to find out something then you need to go and check on your Mother, let her know what is going on"

Emma sighed, Robin was right she needed to tell her Mom that her Dad was definitely missing but this was not a conversation that she was looking forward to, she had wanted to bring her Dad home not return with bad news, her Mom was going to be so devastated.

"Alright but call me if you find ANYTHING. We will meet up with you again as soon as Regina has that potion ready"

"We will. Emma don't lose faith. Your Father and Hook are both competent in the art of combat, I am sure they will be just fine."

"I hope so" Emma said with a tight nod before heading back to the bug with the book clutched to her chest, they better be, she didn't want to lose anyone else.

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David opened his eyes to find a shaft of sunshine shining through the hole high up above him and his eyes instantly flew to the Pirate still lying motionless on the ground next to him. He was on his knees and crawling to Hook's side in seconds but he could already see that he hadn't moved from where David had left him the night before.

With a heavy heart David tried to wake the Pirate again, he gave him a slight shake but he didn't stir. This was not good, Hook had been unconscious for hours now with no sign of waking, what was wrong with him? David's heartbeat picked up as he checked Hook's head over for the second time for any obvious injuries but came back with nothing other than the bump he had received the day before, maybe that injury had been worse than they had first thought?

"He will not wake..." the voice spoke out again but this time all David did was look up, he had been expecting Thanatos to show up again so was half prepared for him this time.

The daemon stepped into the light and David was surprised to see that he had taken on the human's form again. The old man stood before him wearing long dark robes that skimmed the dirt and as he moved it gave the impression that he was floating.

"What have you done to him?" David growled as he watched the man glide over to where they were.

"Not I... I have done nothing to him but he will need your help when he awakes, reassure him, give him hope. All these things will build his spirit and that is just what we all need, isn't it?" the man curled his lip into a sneer then disappeared right before David's eyes.

What was he talking about?

At that moment David was pulled from his thoughts as Hook suddenly surged forward sitting up and gasping into the air but it didn't last long as he listed to the side falling face first back into the sand. David grabbed him and tugged him into his arms expecting the Pirate to be happy that he was no longer likely to inhale the sand but the minute he lay back he gasped as if he were in pain, was he hurt after all?

"Hook, come on. Look at me." David's worry grew by the minute as he watched Hook struggle to breathe calmly

Eventually the Pirate peeled back his eyelids and looked up into David's face with a frown of confusion. "Where is the Crocodile?" he slurred

"What? Gold? He's not here" David's worry only got worse as the Pirate shook his head and tried to look around the room

"He was here. Where were you?" Hook had closed his eyes again as he continued to try and calm himself.

"I was here with you" David answered without hesitation, he didn't want Hook to think that he'd been alone.

"No... I couldn't find you but the Crocodile... he found me." Hook opened his eyes again and gazed around the cave again looking even more confused "Where are we? This is not where I was!"

"In a cave somewhere, I don't know where but now that you are awake we can look for a way out. Do you think you can stand?"

David watched as the Pirate's eyebrows danced in confusion as his eyes skimmed round the cave but when he finally looked back at David he was happy to see that the Pirate seemed to be a bit more coherent.

"Why am I lying in your arms?"

"Because you keeled over, believe me it wasn't my first choice of places for you to be either. Now can you stand?"

"I'll give it a bloody good go if it means getting up from here" Hook replied as he pulled himself into a sitting position with a grimace.

David moved from behind Hook to stand in front of him, he took hold of the Pirate's right arm and hauled him to his feet where he seemed to sway for a minute but then steady himself. Hook gave a reassuring smile as his hand came up to massage the back of his neck with a wince.

"You OK?" David asked

"I will be. Can we just start looking for a way out of here? I do not want to be here when the Crocodile returns?"

David chose not to argue the point so instead pulled out his cell and turned it back on before he swung the flashlight out in front of them sending eerie shadows across the walls. He headed into the dimly lit cave and glanced over his shoulder to see the Pirate slowly following, he didn't look well and David couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something but he also knew that couldn't worry about that right now, there would be time to sort the Pirate out later when they had escaped, for now he had to find a way to get them both out of here and get them home.


	5. Chapter 5

**So on we go with this confusing tale... I am enjoying the challenge of adding a bit of mystery to my writing but it is hard work lol.**

 **Please review**

 **Non Omnibus Videtur, Not all it Seems**

Regina worked as quickly as she could, they had little time to waste. She walked across her vault covering the short distance from the table she was working on to her supplies store to collect the final ingredient that she needed to complete the locator spell. Turning to go back to the table a noise behind her had her looking to the stairs wondering who was there, she certainly wasn't expecting anyone.

"Henry?!" she said in surprise as her Son jumped down the last few steps into view "What are you doing here?"

"Grandma told me what happened, I couldn't sleep and I wanted to see if I could help"

"It's really early Henry, you shouldn't be out by yourself with that daemon still out there. Just wait until I speak to your Mother about this!" Regina was not happy, what were Mary-Margaret and Emma thinking letting her Son walk around town at this hour when the danger was still very real?

"She may not actually know that I'm here... " Henry cringed as he trailed off

"HENRY! Of all the irresponsible things you have done this is right up there with the most stupid." she couldn't believe this, she raised an eyebrow high on her head then carried on "I will be two minutes young man and then I am taking you home. Now stand there and do not move. Oh and don't even think about asking for privileges this week because this is one step too far Henry, you could have been hurt or worse"

"Sorry Mom, I just wanted to help, I want David and Hook home" Henry's eyes went wide with sorrow as he silently pleaded with her not to be too harsh on him.

Her mood softened as she looked at him but she had to be strict, her Son was always so willing to put himself in danger to help others and sometimes she had to protect him from himself.

"I know Henry but you cannot just take off when you want to. Now let me finish this then we can go" she gave him a soft smile and brushed his cheek with her knuckles before returning back to the table.

Regina was just about to add the last ingredient to the mix when a thought hit her, Henry had called David by his name and he had called the Pirate "Hook", Henry always called him Killian, that was strange. She stood up and turned back to ask Henry if something was wrong but as she turned she briefly caught a glance of her Son's face curled into an evil grin just before something slammed onto the side of her head sending her literally flying through the air and landing with a yell onto the table sending everything crashing to the ground around her as she slid down with a thud.

"Henry?!" she slurred bringing her hand to her head.

What was going on? What was Henry doing? She tried to pull herself up but she only managed to get about half way there before something slammed into her back and that was the last she knew as she fell face first onto the potion soaked floor in front of her.

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Killian moved slowly behind the Prince, he was still not sure how he had managed to get inside this cave when the last thing he remembered was being at Tink's. He supposed that he must have passed out at some point, not really surprising considering the blood that he could feel pulling on his back where it had dried to his skin. He looked down as he stumbled and a curse flew from his lips, Gods his feet hurt but this also raised another question. How did his boots come to be on his feet once again, and his jacket too was back in place, surely they were in the ocean somewhere? It would seem that the Crocodile had a very strange sense of humor!

He was tired and everything hurt so he decided to not think about it for the moment, he brought his hook up and tucked it into his belt in an effort to take some of the pressure off his left shoulder then glanced up to see David still heading into the growing darkness ahead of him. The Prince was getting further away by the second but Killian could do little about that, he was struggling to keep up the pace he was already going at never mind going any faster.

"Come on Pirate, I want to get out of here before lunch. I'm getting pretty hungry" David's voice called out echoing loudly towards Killian

"Calm yourself Highness, I am coming" he grumbled as he trudged on.

Killian looked up to see that David had stopped and as he finally caught up to the Prince it was to find him staring up at the low ceiling which sloped down and met the sand a few feet in front of them,

"Well that way's a dead end" David sighed "Let's try over here"

Killian kept his mouth shut, he just followed again until it became clear that this way too was a dead end and when David finally looked at him as he caught up the Prince wore a worried look on his face.

"Why don't you go back to where we started? You don't look too good. I'll come back for you if I find a way out"

Killian couldn't argue, he felt awful and the wound on his shoulder had started to bleed again trailing a sticky track down his back but he would rather they stayed together. If the Crocodile returned he didn't want them to be separated, they would fair better together.

"I am fine Mate" he tried to sound convincing but as if on cue to show him to be a liar his left leg gave a particularly visible wobble and he fell to one knee with a gasp.

"Hook!" David raced forward and came down to kneel in front of him placing a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Killian breathed through the worst of the pain but knew that he wasn't fooling anyone anymore as he knelt with his teeth clamped shut against the pain, he could feel David checking him over and was not surprised when he quickly found the wound on his back.

"What the?... This wasn't here before, when did this happen? Who did this?"

That was too many questions all at once, so he just gave the short answer.

"The Crocodile"

"What? He's not here Hook! I've not seen him the whole time we have been here. In fact other than the old man it's only been you and me here."

Old Man? Killian shook his head, David was wrong, he had to make him understand that they were in danger. Somehow Rumplestiltskin had returned to his previous form and was right here on this infernal island with them.

"He's here... I saw him... he pulled the arrow from my back"

"THIS WAS AN ARROW?" David yelled out making Killian cringe as his voice invaded his head and his brain protested.

"Too loud" he hissed

"Sorry" he heard the Prince sigh loudly "We need to get you back, this light on my cell is not going to last too much longer and I need to check out that shoulder. Think you can make it?"

Killian didn't, he knew that he was close to passing out again as he could feel the lightheadedness seeping in but he would be damned if he showed weakness now so he just nodded. In the end David practically carried him most of the way back and he slumped down onto the sand just outside the circle of light they had left a couple of hours before. He just lay motionless on the ground as he felt David tug his jacket off then undo his vest and shirt before removing them too to reveal the bloody mess underneath.

There were tearing noises from behind him and he briefly wondered what was being sacrificed but the thought flew from his mind as David pressed heavily against his shoulder. He screamed at the contact, shame was gone all that remained was pain and agony but David didn't stop at all he just pressed harder as Killian squirmed beneath him but at least he had the decency to apologize as he sent him into the depths of hell.

After an eternity David finally lent back but Killian was too spent to do anything other than breathe heavily into the sandy surface beneath him. He felt more movement as David worked on him and when he was finally flipped over onto his back to be pulled into David's arms again his eyes fell down on his front to see the checked pattern of David's shirt tied around him in a makeshift bandage. The Prince above him sat wearing a white t-shirt that had been under his checked one but before Killian could thank him for stopping the bleeding David spoke.

"You're welcome, I always hated that shirt anyway" he said with a grin then reached forward and pulled Killian's jacket up from the floor and threw it over his front to keep out the cold.

"Get some sleep" he added quietly "We'll search for a way out later"

Killian would have argued but he didn't have the strength, he couldn't even nod in agreement instead his eyes just slid shut and he welcomed in the darkness.

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Emma was getting anxious, she hadn't heard from either Regina or Robin since she had come home the night before, she sat on the couch staring into the loft willing something to happen. It was still early and Henry was sleeping upstairs and she could see he Mom feeding Neal in the bed under the stairs.

Gah... What was taking so long?

She lifted the cell in her hand again and stared at it, willing it to ring but it just remained silent.

"No word?" she looked up in surprise to see her Mom walking across the room with Neal in her arms.

"Nope, I think I'm just gonna go and see how Regina's getting on" Emma said making the decision and pulling herself to her feet.

She walked quickly to the table and grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair before heading through the door giving her Mom a smile of farewell. She was just starting to run down the first flight of stairs when she heard her Mom screaming her name from the loft. She spun on her heals sprinting back up the steps and through the door eyes moving quickly around the room to see what was wrong.

There on the couch sitting next to her Mom was Regina but something was wrong, there was a trail of blood down the side of the Queen's face and she looked awful.

"Regina?! What the hell happened?" Emma yelled out as she ran across to the couch and coming down in front of the Queen

"I'm not sure. I was working in my vault on the potion when Henry came in..."

"Henry?" Mary-Margaret cut in

"Or a facsimile of him" Regina said as she lent back with a sigh

"I don't understand" Emma said in earnest "Henry's upstairs, what does this have to do with him?"

"Nothing I hope" Regina answered looking at Emma "Whoever attacked me APPREARED to be Henry but I got suspicious when things he said were wrong. I don't know who it was for sure but whoever it was did not want us finding David or Hook. They took all my supplies, I have nothing left to make anymore locator potion, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about that right now" Mary-Margaret said with a look of concern "I'm just glad that you are alright"

"I'll be better when I see Henry with my own eyes." Regina's gaze flicked up to the bedroom above and Emma could practically feel her need to see their Son and her Mom obviously saw it too.

"I'll go and get him. He's been sleeping listening to music through his headphones so that he doesn't get woken by the noise of Neal crying through the night, that's probably why he never heard me shouting" Mary-Margaret said with a sweet smile "Hang on"

She stood up and passed Neal to Emma who took him quickly but just tucked him into her side and headed to the kitchen to grab the first aid supplies. She was back at Regina's side in seconds pulling out some antiseptic wipes and handing them to the Queen.

"Thanks" Regina said with a smile "What do we do now Swan?"

"We look" Emma replied with a sigh "What else can we do? I need to find them Regina. I can't lose either of them"

"We won't" the Queen replied sincerely.

Their attention was drawn back into the room when Henry's voice suddenly sounded from the stairs.

"MOM! What happened?" he yelled and ran quickly down the steps and across to the couch.

"I'm fine Henry. Someone just really didn't want me to make that potion" she said pulling him into a tight hug

"Who would do that?" Henry asked in a worried voice as he stepped back to look at Regina

"That is something we will need to figure out but right now we need to find another way to find your Grandpa and that Pirate" Regina replied with a smile

Emma's mind was reeling, she needed to find a way to find them. It had already been more than twelve hours since they had gone missing, who knew what they were going through.

"I'm going to call the others, we need to regroup and make a new plan" Emma suddenly said pulling herself back to her feet and handing Neal back to her Mom.

"I'll Help" Regina said getting to her feet too "You call Belle, I'll call Robin"

"I'm gonna call Leroy, I'm sure that the dwarves will help too" Henry added.

Emma smiled at her family around her, their original plan may have failed but they were not giving up, not by a long shot.


	6. Chapter 6

**OK so here we go again with another chapter. I will give you all fair warning there will be no update tomorrow as I have fun Christmas plans :)**

 **Poor Hook is in for a rough ride, will he be OK?**

 **Spe Et Dolore, Hope and Sorrow**

David looked down at the now sleeping Pirate that lay in his arms, what the hell was going on? How had he manage to get an arrow wound on his shoulder when he hadn't moved a muscle in hours? David knew that he may not have all the answers but he did know one thing for sure, they needed to find a way out of this cave if they were both to stay alive. He carefully lay Hook back down onto the sand making sure to cover him using his jacket, the cave was relatively warm but with his injury the last thing David needed was the Pirate getting a chill.

A few minutes later David gave Hook one last look before heading off into the darkness again, he was determined to find a way to get them home even if it meant them splitting up but as it transpired it was a useless task, every direction he went ended the same way, with no way out. Eventually the battery in his cell ran out and he was left standing in the dark cursing himself for not realizing sooner that it was going to happen. He jammed it in his pocket and pulled out Hook's ancient phone switching it on, the light that came off of it was minimal but it was enough to get him back to where the Pirate still lay.

He flopped down next to Hook falling onto his back to stare up at the blue sky high above. If only he could get out of that hole but it was much too high up. He lay pondering the point when a sudden thought hit him, he didn't need to get out, if he could get a message out it may be enough... he needed to build a fire.

David jumped up and started gathering all the loose bits of wood and dry leaves from around the cave piling them up directly beneath the hole. This could work but he would need more supplies, he looked at Hook again to see that he was still sleeping soundly, he was going to have to venture further into the cave again if he was going to get enough wood for this to work. He looked at his watch, nearly one, still plenty of daylight to work by when he got back, with that he was off, he had a job to do and he'd be damned if he was going to fail.

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Killian woke with a start gasping into the darkness. Where was he? He looked around quickly realizing that he was still in the cave, letting out a long breath his heart began to slow it's rapid beat against his ribs and he relaxed back onto the sand. He lay for a few minutes just staring at the sky but eventually figured that he needed to move, well sit up at least, a task that would not be easy given his state.

Panting heavily again he finally managed to get himself upright where he tried to take stock of himself with his eyes falling to his battered feet to find that he was once again minus his shoes. He looked at his feet and sighed deeply, he was never going to be able to walk on them to get out of there, he tried to give his toes an experimental wiggle but hissed through his teeth as the resulting pain seared through him, he clamped his eyes shut and cursed loudly into the darkness.

Deciding that he was not going to try that again anytime soon Killian's attention moved back to the cave he now sat in by himself. Where was David? He turned his head from side to side trying to see if he was sleeping nearby but came back with nothing. Something changed in the air and Killian stilled squinting out into the darkness, he could have sworn that he had just seen movement, he tensed not knowing exactly what to expect as he became aware of a scuffing noise coming his way but to his utter relief it was David that walked into view a few seconds later.

"I wondered where you were" he said letting out the breath he wasn't even aware that he had been holding as he looked up at the Prince from the floor "Find anything useful?"

David threw him a death glare and stomped over stopping directly in front of him looking irate, What was wrong?

"All I found was the Crocodile which was an interesting affair. You know the Crocodile that you claim tried to kill you but he tells a different story Hook. He tells me that you tried to kill him, that you are the reason that we are trapped here because you tried to use Henry to get close to him. He laughed at me Hook, he stood on the other side of a caged door and sneered at me. We could have been home hours ago if it wasn't for your stupid pride. This is your fault Pirate, make no mistake." David seethed

"What? That's not right..." Killian stuttered furrowing his brow, he was so confused "He attacked me, he shot me with an arrow then pulled it from my back! I did nothing and I certainly would NEVER use Henry in that way"

"I don't believe you" David raised an eye brow high on his head "I knew deep down that you hadn't changed. I can't trust you anymore. You have put us both in danger all for the sake of your revenge. Once a Pirate always a Pirate eh?"

"I didn't, I swear. I wouldn't do that to Henry... the Crocodile is his Grandfather, I would not do that to the Lad. David please, you know me better than this. I did nothing. I swear"

"And yet here we are" David said with a sneer as he gave him a look of utter contempt.

Killian couldn't believe this, after all he had done David had taken the Crocodile's word over his! He pulled himself to his knees groaning as it tugged on his sore back and his damaged toes dug into the sand sending pain shooting through every part of him again.

"What are you going to do Pirate? Are you going to betray me too? Am I just a means to an end?" David spat out "Well I won't let you use me, I won't let you use my family"

Killian's jaw dropped as David unsheathed his sword and spread his arms wide bending into a low bow.

"I challenge you. Now will you fight me or are you too much of a coward?" David sneered

"I don't want to fight you Mate. You have to believe me the Crocodile is lying" Killian begged but he could see the look in the Princes' eye, he had seen it many times before, the Prince was going to attack, fair fight or not.

"Well that will make this all the easier then" David yelled as he rushed forward bringing his sword up high over his head. Killian blocked the move by catching the blade in his Hook but the blow hit hard and pain streaked across his back making him fall awkwardly to the side onto the sand. He tried to move, he knew that the Prince would strike again quickly and there was no time for pain, there was only time for life or death as he tried to get himself on his hands and knees which was awkward on a good day with his hook but with his sore back too it was almost impossible.

How had this happened? Surely David knew him better than this, knew that he would never do anything to hurt Henry or Emma.

Killian scrambled forward trying to get away from the attack that he knew was still coming when his hand fell onto something cold and he looked down to see his cutlass in the sand. How did that get here? He didn't bring it with him, surely it was still on the Jolly where he had left it. He had no more time to think it over though as there was a roar from behind him, he rolled over just in time to see David's blade coming down, he threw out his arm and met the blow full on making David grin widely showing his teeth as he sneered.

"Now this is going to make things much more interesting" he stepped back and motioned for Killian to stand.

"I don't want to fight you Mate" Killian pleaded again as he struggled to his very swollen feet but it was no use, David was not listening, he just readied himself for the fight with a smile on his face.

"That's only because you know that you can't win, you know that my skills outweigh yours by far" David laughed back.

Killian was about to speak again but he was caught off guard as David suddenly lunged forward slicing wildly into the air. At first Killian had thought that he had missed but as he looked down at himself he became aware of the large slice across is abdomen from just below his ribs on his left hand side to his navel as the blood started to run down his front in large rivulets. The minute his brain registered the cut it stung madly and he sank down to one knee again pressing into his side with his left forearm in a vain attempt to staunch the flow.

He barely had time to think when David surged forward again and Killian moved on instinct. It was done, it was over in the blink of an eye and Killian's jaw hung open in a silent scream as he descended into hell.

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David dropped the last of the wood onto the pile and was just about to bend down to ignite the fire when he got the feeling that someone was watching him, he spun quickly but was unsurprised to see the old man standing in the shadows staring at him as he worked.

"What do you want?" David said in a bored tone, he was not in the mood.

"I brought some refreshments, can't have him getting too thirsty now can I?" the man smiled and pointed to Hook on the floor, when David looked across the cave he could see bottles of water and what looked like some loaves of bread lying on the sand.

"Are we supposed to be grateful?" David said carrying on with his task.

"You may not be but he might need the water when he wakes in just a second... after he gets over the trauma that is, that may take a while." he added the last part with a shake of his head then added "He really isn't having a good day"

David's head instantly snapped up at the man's words.

"What trauma? What are you talking about?" he barked out

"He has a tortured soul that one, he is lucky to have a friend like you that I can use against him" the man brought his hands together in front of himself and gave a peaceful smile

"What? Quit talking in riddles. What is going on?" David was pissed now, what was this beast talking about? What had he done to Hook? Had he attacked the Pirate when David had been collecting the firewood?

"He is an open book this one, wears his heart on his sleeve so to speak and right now it is breaking, he feels things deeply which is all the more endearing, don't you think?"

The old man laughed then stepped back motioning for David to go to Hook before he carried on into the shadows disappeared from view.

David was moving to the Pirate's side in seconds but before he even got half way over Hook surged up from the floor scrambling to his feet and stumbled his way over to the wall where he fell on his knees and proceeded to puke his guts up onto the sand.

"HOOK" David yelled throwing himself down next to the Pirate in an effort to stop him tipping forward into his own vomit

Hook clamped his eyes shut and dragged in heavy breaths as he tried to push David away.

"No no no... Oh Gods, please no" he panted "I didn't mean to, it was an accident"

"What was?" David was concerned now, Hook was shaking violently in his arms, what was going on?

Hook looked to the side and met his eyes before shaking his head again and looking away.

"You're not here, you are toying with my head. Is this to be my punishment? Am I to see you, have you with me for the rest of my days? I am sorry. I didn't want to... I... I..." A noise sounding remarkably like a sob left the Pirate just as his stomach revolted again but there was nothing left to come up, nothing but hot air escaped him and all David could do was support the Pirate until the worst passed.

After what seemed like forever Hook slumped sideways against the wall and slid down into the sand, David watched as the Pirate's chest still gave the occasional hitch, it was clear that he was still struggling to control his erratic breathing. He held onto the Hook's arm lightly as he visually checked him over, he noticed after a few seconds that the Pirate was just staring into space but when he started banging his head gently against the cave wall time and time again David decided it was time to move him.

"Hook, come on. Let's get you moved away from here" David said pulling the Pirate into his arms then hauling him to his feet. He pulled Hook's good arm around his shoulder as he walked him over to where he was building the fire and helped him to lie back down but the whole time they were moving Hook just stared blankly ahead like he wasn't even there and David supposed he wasn't, he was still trapped inside his own head trying to process whatever had played out in his dream.

As David let the Pirate go he stepped back with his eyes falling on his own t-shirt drawn there by a red stain. What the hell? He looked at himself carefully, had he cut himself? Finding nothing the only other answer was Hook, had his wound reopened?

"Hook are you hurt?"

The Pirate never answered, he seemed incapable of doing anything right now but David could see him holding his left arm against his front. He knelt down quickly next to Hook and pulled his arm back to reveal a large gash across his middle. This was not good, what the hell was going on? What had the old man done?

He walked on his knees up to Hook's head and took hold of his face between his hands turning his head to look at him.

"Hook, talk to me. What happened?"

David watched as the Pirate's gaze finally settled on his face but his brow furrowed in confusion before he shook his head again.

"No no no... you are not here" he said clamping his eyes shut as his chest hitched against another sob

"HOOK... Look at me" David yelled out, it bounced off the walls and echoed it's way into the distance, it seemed to work though as Hook's eyes popped open again but the look on the Pirate's face was one that would haunt David until the day he died, the man looked broken, like a part of him had died inside but eventually something inside him seemed to snap into place and he gazed at David's face in wonder.

"David?" he whispered as if not believing his own eyes.

"Yes, it's me" David answered softly "Now will you tell me what happened?"

David watched as Hook swallowed heavily, his eyes danced back and forth again not settling for more than a second on anything and David could feel the Pirate's heart racing through a pulse point near his temple but he didn't let go, he just held Hook's head tightly and stared into the Pirate's soul as he finally seemed to find the words that had been evading him.

"I... I... you... you came at me... I tried to stop it... I... I didn't want to fight you... but you kept on coming...Oh Gods... I am so sorry." He pulled in a few gasps and started trying to get away again as he wailed "Swan will never forgive me, what have I done?"

All David could do was wait until Hook got himself together, it was tough to watch the Pirate as he practically hyperventilated in front of him but eventually he seemed to settle enough for David to carry on, he needed to know what he was going through"

"What did you do? Tell me, talk me through it, maybe it will help. It can't be that bad, come on, just tell me?" David said in a calming voice.

Finally Hook took one last deep breath and just closed his eyes letting his head fall back into David's hands, a single tear trailed it's way down the Pirate's face and he simply sighed out.

"I killed you"


	7. Chapter 7

**OK so I lied, I got my days muddled up!**

 **My Bad... there will be no update TOMORROW as I have fun Christmas plans lol.**

 **Oh well at least you get a bit more to see you towards the weekend.**

 **The reviews have dropped off a bit, are you guys not enjoying this? PLEASE let me know your thoughts good or bad**

 **Re Reprehendo, Reality Check**

They had gathered at Granny's to come up with a plan but with no clue where to start looking they were struggling to come up with anything useful. Emma threw her head back in despair against the back of the booth she sat in, this was getting them nowhere fast and she needed to do something.

"We'll find them Mom" Henry spoke out drawing her attention to him

He was sitting opposite her with the book that Thanatos had clambered from the day before on the table in front of him, he was always one to try using research, he loved books, understood them but she was more a woman of action and that was exactly why she felt so useless right now, she had no way of knowing what to do or where to go.

"Find anything useful in there?" she asked leaning forward and crossing her arms to lean on the table.

"Not yet but I'll keep reading" he replied with a reassuring smile.

"You do that Kid. If there's one person that I trust to help me figure this out it's you" she said with a smile of her own as she pulled herself to her feet and headed back across to the group of others who had a map spread out across another table in a booth near the back of the room.

"I say we split up into groups and divide the space up. There is a lot of ground to cover but if we all work together we should be able to get it done in less than two days" Robin had taken lead it would seem.

"Two days! That's too long" Mary-Margaret called out in anguish "Who knows what they are going through"

Emma walked up to stand next to her Mom "I agree but right now we don't have any other choice, we have no clue where they are so we have to search everywhere, this is a good plan"

Mary-Margaret's eyes shone with tears but she tried to smile, tried to keep hope, Emma could see her struggling against her very own nature in the reality of this situation.

"I think I have something" Henry yelled out and everyone turned as he lifted the book up and walked across the room with it in his hand "It says here that before Thanatos was bound to this book he liked to dwell in forest areas, finding shelter in underground hollows. Maybe his habits haven't changed"

"It's a place to start" Robin said turning back to the map on the table and scribbling furiously

Emma walked over to Henry and hugged him tightly.

"You did good kid" she pulled him back to look at him but at that moment Belle walked up with a look of confusion on her face.

"Where did you read that Henry, I have studied this book for weeks and didn't see anything about that"

Henry tugged himself out of Emma's grasp and opened the book again to show Belle, the librarian looked over the pages and her eyes went wide.

"This is new" she looked up with eyes like saucers "This section has changed, it read differently before."

"What? How is that possible" Emma gasped

"I don't know but the original story told of how Thanatos wrecked havoc upon the souls on earth before being tricked by Herakles to be sent to the Underworld. It really didn't make sense because we now know that he was bound to this book BUT it now reads differently. I am going to need time to study this and compare it to my notes but I think we may be on to something here. Henry do you want to come and help me?" Belles' voice was full of determination and Emma couldn't help the bubble of hope that rose inside her.

"Can I?" Henry asked quickly

"Go Kid, you two have got this. We are going to head out and search every patch of forest around and not stop until we bring them home"

Henry threw his arms around her middle again before following Belle out of the door and across the road to Mr. Gold's shop where they disappeared from sight. Emma turned back to her Mom with a grin on her face, for the first time they had something to work with.

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David couldn't quite believe what he had just heard, Hook seemed to really believe that he was dead and worst still he believed that he had been the one that killed him.

"Hey, open your eyes, look at me, am I dead?"

Hook just shook his head and grumbled "You are not here. I felt your blood on my hands...My blade in your gut... you are dead"

David had to snap him out of this quickly.

"HOOK OPEN YOUR GOD DAMNED EYES" he roared and again it worked for the second time as the Pirate looked at him in surprise "Would you just think for a minute. I don't know what is going on but you did NOT kill me, I am here. You were sleeping, it was only a dream"

"Not a dream" Hook breathed out as his eyes slid shut again

"You were asleep Hook, I promise. Tell me what happened besides the obvious"

Hook sighed and opened his eyes again turning his head to look into at him with a look of resignation across his features.

"I awoke and you were gone but you came back and told me that you had found a door but the Crocodile was on the other side and he told you that I had attacked him not the other way round. You said that I had betrayed you and that I was the reason for our capture. No matter what I said you would not listen and in the end you attacked me with your sword. I tried to fight you off but you cut me and while I was trying to compose myself you attacked again... I... you... I..." he swallowed hard closing his eyes against the memory and David decided he wouldn't push him

"I don't have my sword Hook, look around it's not here so how could I attack you with it"

The Pirate's eyes opened again and David watched as his brow furrowed deeply in thought "I don't have my cutlass" he muttered

"Neither of us have weapons so how could we have fought. Look I don't know what is going on but somehow when you are sleeping it is playing out like reality to you but it wasn't real, you didn't kill me."

Hook's eyes fell on him again with a new look in them, a look of hope "You are truly here? You are alright?"

"I am fine, I promise, not a scratch on me which is more than can be said for you" David chuckled but he was unprepared when Hook suddenly lurched forward and grabbed him pulling him into his embrace. David could feel the Pirate still shaking as he clung to him in relief so he just brought his hands onto Hook's back to sooth him, this was not like the Pirate but right now David knew that Hook just needed to know that he had not killed him so he left him alone to deal with this in his own way.

A few minutes later the Pirate pulled back apologizing as he flopped back onto the sand with a sigh.

"Hey, it's alright" David soothed "but I need to see to this cut on your stomach before you fill it full of sand, I do not need you picking up an infection."

He worked quickly seeing that the wound was ugly and long, it was certainly going to need stitches but right now all David could do was wash it off with some of the water before using the other sleeve of his torn up shirt to make another makeshift bandage to keep it covered.

"Anything else I should know about" he said with a laugh expecting the Pirate to shake his head but when Hook remained silent he knew that there was "What is it? Come on Hook, I'd rather know now than find out when we are trying to get out of here and you keel over again"

He watched as the Pirate seemed to aknowledge where he was coming from by giving a slight nod.

"My feet" he simply said

David's gaze moved instantly to Hook's feet, he cautiously moved down and took hold of his left boot and tugged it off eliciting a hiss from the Pirate. He looked up with concern as he pulled the dark sock off to reveal the mess beneath, there were cuts and bruises everywhere, what the hell had happened? He moved to the other foot and watched as Hook clamped his jaw shut and breathed heavily through gritted teeth again when David tugged it off followed by the sock. Hook's right foot was practically unrecognizable, it was so swollen that the skin had taken on a shiny tone and his toes were the darkest shade of purple David had ever seen.

"What happened?" David gasped out, he didn't know what to touch first, it all just looked so painful.

"I can advise not running through the forest without shoes" The Pirate grit out through his clamped jaw.

"This happened at the same time as the arrow?" David asked quietly.

"Aye" was all Hook replied as he tried not to show how much it hurt when David finally reached out to raise his right foot up to get a better look at his ankle, the whole joint was swollen and very warm to the touch, perhaps it was broken?

"Why didn't you tell me? I had you traipsing all round this cave, this must have been agony" David winced as he thought about what the Pirate must have gone through, no wonder he had looked so bad.

Hook didn't answer he just closed his eyes again.

"Hey, no sleeping."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem right now Mate" Hook gave a smirk and opened his eyes again tipping his head to the side to look at David again.

"I need to clean these, this is going to hurt and there is nothing I can do about that. I'm sorry" Hook looked so exhausted and David's stomach dropped at the thought of what he still had to put him through.

Hook just sighed loudly "Everything hurts Mate, just do your best and I will be fine"

David worked as gently as he could, he cleaned out the worst looking wounds carefully pulling bits of twigs and pine needles from them, it would seem that the dreams were more of a reality than David had given them credit for!

He tried to be gentle but Hook hissed and growled the whole time he worked and in the end he had to stop to allow him to calm his breathing down. David had no more bits of torn up shirt so he ended up having to use the Pirate's own black one to bind his feet but he didn't think that Hook would really care as he lay panting into the air when the pain became too much again. FINALLY David was satisfied that he'd done his best and he sat back on his heels wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

"You OK?"

"What do you think?" Hook gasped out in reply.

"Right, not the best question to ask, sorry" David muttered feeling stupid for even thinking it

Hook turned his head and looked at him "I know you meant well, don't worry. I am fine, nothing that a nice long nap wouldn't fix" he said with a lopsided grin.

David laughed, they both knew that sleeping was out for the Pirate until further notice, it would seem that it was not a very restful pastime for him to partake in.

"You thirsty?" David asked suddenly as he realized that Hook had not had anything in hours.

"Aye, I could do with a drop of rum about now" Hook said struggling to sit himself up.

"Well so could I but I'm fresh out, how about some water instead?" David laughed turning quickly to grab the bottled water but as he moved Hook flinched bringing his arms up in an effort to protect his head, eyes going wide in fear.

David couldn't believe this, Hook really thought he was going to hit him, was he that disorientated?

"I wasn't going to... I was just getting the water" he said showing Hook the bottle cautiously and the Pirate visibly sagged as he breathed in relief but a few minutes later David could see Hook's arm still shaking as he reached out to take the opened bottle from his outstretched hand.

"Sorry. I just don't know what to believe anymore." Hook's eyes flicked up to meet his and he looked so ashamed of himself. "I'm still not 100% sure that this is reality, I want to believe it but..."

"Hey, I get it." David made a mental note to keep his movements slow and his voice low to try and help Hook adjust "No more sudden movements, I promise."

"Thanks Mate" Hook said with a sigh as he finally swigged the water he held in his hand.

They sat in silence for a few minutes until David suddenly remembered the fire he had been making. He jammed his own bottle into the sand and crawled over to the pile of wood before pulling out his lighter and getting to work trying to light it. He heard movement behind him and he peered over his shoulder to see Hook dragging himself over to the wall, he spoke as he went answering David's unasked question.

"I didn't want to lie down but my back was paining me too much to sit up unaided" he gave a small gasp as he lent his bare skin back against the cold wall behind him

David stood quickly, grabbed Hook's vest and jacket and headed over to his side. He wrestled him back into the vest them draped the jacket from his shoulders over his front, it wasn't ideal but it would have to do.

"Thanks" Hook said as he walked away

"You may need the jacket off in a few minutes when I get this bad boy going" David said with a grin dropping back down to the pile of wood.

He had collected quite a large amount and there was plenty more to keep the fire going, this would give them light when night came too but David had been so busy focusing on the fire that he was shocked when he looked up to see Hook's eyes closed and his head tipping forward.

"HOOK" he yelled and the Pirate's eyes flew open again as his head came up with a jerk of surprise "No sleeping"

"Bloody Hell... I wasn't sleeping" he complained as he stretched out his sore body then blinked his eyes widely trying to fight off the tiredness.

"Yeah and I wasn't building a fire" David retorted as he walked across to the Pirate giving him a sarcastic smile

David reached over and grabbed one of the loaves of bread tugging a large section off and handing it to Hook, the Pirate managed to get his hand out from beneath his jacket and took the food thanking him with a tight nod.

"Pity it wasn't marshmallows" David laughed as he plonked himself down next to Hook watching the flames roaring in front of him.

Hook may have taken the bread but David was aware that he just held it in his hand as he too stared into the flames "I have no idea what that is"

"You've never had marshmallows?" David said turning his head to look at the Pirate in disgust "Hook you have been in Storybrooke for long enough now, what have you been doing? I swear when we get out of here we will have them, toasted of course, that's the best way you know. Henry loves them, he was the one who introduced me to them one night around Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. Apparently pre coma David Nolan wasn't adventurous enough to go camping or do anything else that would involve toasting marshmallows, just wait until you get your first taste, you won't be disappointed"

"Sounds good to me..." Hook looked thoughtful for a minute before looking at David "He is a good Lad, Henry. You are lucky to have him in your life"

"Yeah, he's a good kid and WE are lucky to have him in our lives" David replied, he could see Hook struggling to stay awake, he needed to keep him distracted. "Tell me about your time in the Navy with your Brother, Liam wasn't it?"

"Aye but that was such a long time ago, it was a different life back then" Hook looked uncomfortable about the switch in topic

"Tell me, I want to know what you were like back then"

"Pretty much as I am now, Emma took the hate from my heart, what you see now is more Killian Jones than Captain Hook" he sighed out tipping his head back against the wall and slugging his water. David noted the bread still sitting on his leg untouched, he could also tell that Hook didn't want to talk of his past so he switched tactics "OK so tell me Killian Jones, tell me what you see in your future"

Hook furrowed his brow "I never used to think too far ahead. As old as I am I never truly believed that I would live a long life, I lived a day to day existence concentrating on only my revenge... until I met Emma. That is when that all changed for me and now... now it scares me" He looked back at David again and he could see the fear there deep in the Pirate's soul "I don't want to lose her... I don't want to leave her, I promised that I wouldn't"

"You won't. We are going to get out of here." David had to swallow his own emotions down at the sorrow in the Pirate's eyes. He could practically feel Hook's emotional turmoil rolling off of him in waves so he looked away to stare at the fire again and was happy to see the smoke billowing out into the air above them "I'm sending a signal right now" he added in a low voice and motioned with his eyes to the hole above them. Hook's head tipped back and a grin creased his face when he saw what David was talking about.

Yeah, they were going to get home and he would make toasted marshmallows for everyone, all they had to do was wait on someone finding them. David looked up too and gave a silent prayer of hope for them to hurry, he didn't even want to think what would happen to the Pirate if he fell asleep again, he grabbed his water and gulped it down knowing that there was a long night ahead of them, he needed to stay alert.


	8. Chapter 8

**So back to business after my night off, I hope you enjoy this.**

 **As always please review.**

 **Occultae Veritatis, Hidden Truth**

Henry and Belle had set up in the back of Gold's shop, it was the best place to be with all the stuff Belle had collected being right on hand to help them with their research. It was getting late and Belle had put Neal down about an hour before using an old crib in the front shop as a temporary place for his Uncle to sleep but as tired as he was Henry was determined to carry on. His Moms and the others had been out all day searching the woods and he hoped that they'd have good news when they got back. He grabbed the coffee that he had been sipping and took another mouthful to discover it had gone cold, surely he hadn't been distracted that long? He looked up at the clock on the wall to see that it was nearly nine, wow.

Belle walking back into the room with take out from Granny's brought his attention back to the table as she placed the food down in front of him and his stomach gave a growl.

"Thought we could use some food. I think we've probably done enough for today Henry. We can start again tomorrow." she said with a kind smile as she reached across and closed the book in front of him.

"What if tomorrow is too late" he threw back, he was not stopping now.

"Henry you have not stopped in hours, you are tired. I understand that you want to help and believe me when I say I am not giving up BUT you need sleep."

"I just want them home" Henry sighed and slumped back in his chair

"I know, we all do" she smiled sweetly again and rubbed his back in a soothing motion "Now eat otherwise your Mom will kill me when she gets back"

"When are they heading home?" Henry asked as he picked up an onion ring and popped it into his mouth.

"Soon" was all she replied but she wouldn't look at him, she was hiding something. When would they all stop trying to protect him.

"What's wrong?" he said sitting up straighter tipping his head in anticipation of her answer.

Belle gave a long sigh then looked him in the eye "They haven't found anything Henry, nothing, not the smallest clue. It's like they have all just disappeared into thin air. I didn't want to worry you, I'm sorry"

Henry threw down his onion ring and grabbed the book again, he was not stopping now, he was sure that there were answers in these pages.

"Don't try and stop me Belle, I need to do this, the answer is in here I can feel it and after all I am the Author so I should know" he gave her a wry smile and she crumbled

"Fine BUT you eat first and do not get grease on that book" she said with a laugh "I'm going to check on Neal, back in a minute."

Henry laughed too as Belle walked from the room and he pushed the book slightly back to pull his meal closer but the book tipped off the edge of the table and he gasped as he saw it falling to the floor not knowing what was going to happen. It landed with a loud clunk but other than that it remained as it was... just a book.

Henry sighed heavily, what was it with this book? He looked quickly to the door as Belle called out from the other room.

"You alright Henry? What was that?"

"I'm OK, it was nothing to worry about" he yelled back, he wasn't lying.

He slid from his chair to stoop down and retrieve the book from the carpet but as he reached out his hand he stopped furrowing his brow, the book lay with just the back cover open showing the patterned paper that lined the inside of the leather binding. He looked closer to see that it wasn't just a pattern it was minuscule but it looked like writing. He picked up the book and placed it back on the table then grabbed a magnifying glass from Belle's desk. He was back at the book in seconds peering closely at the pattern before him to find that it was indeed writing but he couldn't read it, it looked strange, Latin maybe?

His heart picked up a beat as he grabbed hold of the book again and practically ran to the doorway bursting through the bead curtain smiling like a mad man at Belle as she turned in surprise at the noise.

"What is it Henry?" she asked urgently

"I think I've found something"

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He pulled himself across the sand towards the fire to throw more wood onto it, the flames had died down and he didn't want to let it go out now that it was dark outside, he did not want to sit in the dark. David had fallen asleep a while ago and Killian didn't have the heart to wake him knowing that he was probably in for a long night trying to stop him falling asleep so he'd leave him as long as he could. Killian was beyond tired but the alternative was not something he was willing to even think about so he shook his head again trying to chase the sleep away..

Adding the wood was awkward as he couldn't lean on his left arm due to his sore back so he ended up lying on his side and adding one piece at a time and by the time the flames were roaring again he was sweating heavily from the effort. He didn't have the energy to sit himself back up and could feel sleep tugging at him as he lay back on the sand staring up into the night sky above him.

He could vaguely make out some of the stars and he smiled to himself, they always brought him comfort no matter what realm he was in. It had taken him hardly anytime to chart Storybrooke's night sky and he recognized the constellation he was seeing as Ursa Major or the Great Bear as Swan had called it. He wondered where she was, was she searching for them? Did they even know that they were still alive?

He sighed closing his eyes, of course she was looking for them she didn't know of any other way to be, she would not give up. He smiled to himself imagining her by his side, stroking the side of his face lovingly as they both lay next to the roaring fire.

"What are you smiling at Pirate?" she said with a grin as she tucked her hands under her chin and rested her head on his chest.

"Just happy Love" he replied as he tipped his head slightly to see her.

"This is nice, isn't it?" she sighed

He had to agree, there was nothing better than lying next to a fire on a cold winter evening as the snow fell outside... wait... his eyes shot open again and he looked around again to see his old room at Granny's, damn it, he had fallen asleep again but at least this time he knew that.

He sat up sharply shoving the imposter off of himself gasping as all his injuries made themselves known at his movement.

"You are NOT real" he snarled

"On the contrary, I am very real, I'm just not Emma Swan but she will do for now" the imposter smiled back "I wondered how long it would take you to realize that you were dreaming, this just makes things a bit more difficult but I do like a challenge."

Killian couldn't believe it, he had fought so hard to stay awake but he had failed and now he didn't know what was going to happen, would he get out of this trip unscathed?

"What do you want?" he asked pulling himself further away to lean against the nearest chair.

"What does anyone want Captain? We all just want to be well fed and happy and right now I am both so thank you"

Killian was confused "I don't understand, I have done nothing to aid you"

"On the contrary, you have done plenty Dear Captain, plenty" Emma said slyly

"STOP SPEAKING IN BLOODY RIDDLES" he yelled out in frustration but all the imposter did was laugh as she pulled herself to her feet and stalked towards him.

"Now that's not nice, I thought you would appreciate a change of pace. Some time to relax and recuperate but it would seem that you are keen to proceed. Is that what you want Pirate? Do you want to see what your Emma has in store for you?"

"I want you to bugger off and leave me be" Killian grit out eyeing the imposter with caution but showing no fear.

"I'm sorry but that option is not on the table. You had the chance to have some time to gather yourself but you had to ruin things"

"You are not Emma, why would I want to spend time with you? I'd rather take whatever else is coming."

"Suit yourself" the imposter replied raising an eyebrow high on her head and shrugging.

Killian watched as she circled around him not knowing what she was going to do. She stopped by his feet and let herself appraise him from head to toe but before he knew what was happening she bent down quickly grabbing him by his right ankle and yanked him hard. He yelled out in pain as he slid across the floor hook dragging across the surface leaving a furrow of splinters behind him. She walked into the center of the room where she dropped his leg with a thud onto the smooth wooden floor making Killian cry out again as his foot hit the floorboards and sent waves of pain through him once more, he curled onto his side and just lay with his eyes clamped shut breathing heavily into polished surface as the imposter continued to circle him.

"Your Emma is an untrusting soul you know, she's never truly believed that you had changed. She always keeps that thought in the back of her mind, that you will one day betray her and her family and because of that she is always prepared to do this" she snarled as she drew her foot back and kicked him full force in his ribs. He barked out a cough at the contact and his whole chest locked as the air whooshed from his body, he couldn't breath, couldn't get air but eventually nature took it's course and the oxygen rushed through his system again when his lungs managed to lurch back into use.

"I know... that is a lie... there is nothing... you could say... about her... that I would believe... She loves me... and I her" he managed to gasp out as he stared at the fake Emma with his best scowl.

"You may be right, she may love you but she is not coming." she stooped down in front of him and laughed in his face "You think she is looking for you? You poor fool. They all think that you are dead, both you and the Prince. I made sure of that by leaving a very gruesome scene back where we met in that clearing. You should just accept the fact that after tomorrow all that will remain of the two of you are a couple of names on two shiny new headstones in the cemetery"

Killian was numb, was this true? Did the whole town think that they were dead? Was he really stuck in this hell with no way out? He couldn't believe what was happening, he was never getting out of here. Was he really was stuck in this hell with no escape? Was he destined to spend the rest of his days at the mercy of this daemon with no one to help him and no way to fight back?

Killian was just too tired to do anything to defend himself and as such when the imposter finally made another move he just lay trying his best to curl himself into a ball to protect himself the best he could as blow after blow rained down on him leaving him bruised and bloody on the floor. He gave a silent prayer for death, it would be a relief to just feel nothing as wave after wave of pain washed over him. Fake Emma wore a look of utter contempt as she kicked, punched and stamped her way up and down his body but he couldn't move, he couldn't do anything other than grunt at the impact of every blow until she eventually stopped.

"Ahhhh much better... nothing like a good dose of despair and hopelessness before the day is out. Thank you Captain" Emma's face appeared in his line of vision as she bent low to look at her handy work. She blew him a kiss and gave him a wink before stepping back "Sleep tight Killian, I'm sure your friend will be awake soon to help you, get some rest I think you have given me enough for tonight but I will see you in the morning"

With that she was gone and he was once more back in the cave lying next the the fire that seemed to be dying down again. He tried to move but every part of him ached causing him to groan loudly as he let his head fall into the sand.

"Hook?" David's sleepy voice sounded from over by the wall. "What are you doing over there?"

He couldn't reply, all he could do was groan again but it got his message across as David skidded to his side seconds later with a look of total shock on his face as he stared at him through wide eyes.

"Oh my God. What happened?" David held his hands out over him like he didn't know what to touch without causing more pain but Killian couldn't answer, the cave was fading out and there was nothing he could do to avoid it. This was not sleep, this was his body simply saying it had had enough and Killian just hoped that the fake Emma had been telling the truth when she had said that she wouldn't be back until morning, at least he would get a few hours of peace before the torture started again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Poor Killian has really been through the ringer with this fic and I'm sorry to say (not really) that it is far from over for our sweet Captain.**

 **Will he make it out alive and if he does will he still be the same Pirate we all know and love?**

 **Let's find out shall we?**

 **Simul Et Nos Unum Sumus, Together We Are One**

David was panicking as he watched Hook slip into unconsciousness in front of his eyes. No no no... he couldn't let him sleep again, not so soon. He mentally cursed himself for falling asleep and leaving the Pirate to try and stay awake by himself, a task which he seemed to have failed in spectacular fashion.

Hook's face was a mass of bruising, he had a split bottom lip which had bled heavily over his chin, it had dripped down his front to form a morbid trail that had soaked into the checked fabric tied across his upper chest to protect the wound in his left shoulder. He also had a large gash down the left hand side of his now very swollen nose but David was more concerned about seeing the parts of him that were still hidden by his fastened vest.

He moved cautiously undoing the buttons first and peering inside to see what damage lay beneath giving an audible gasp at the deep bruising across Hook's abdomen and chest, was that a boot print? Deciding that he wouldn't risk checking anything else until Hook was in a fit state to tell him if he was hurting him or not David just cleaned up the bits he could see as best as he could with his limited resources before putting more wood onto the fire to ensure that the Pirate was warm enough then he sat back down on the sand at Hook's side.

David couldn't take his eyes from the man on the ground next to him, he had been through so much in such a short period of time and there was no sign of it ending any time soon. How much more could he take before his body just gave up?

David wished that he could take on the daemon instead of the Pirate even just once but it would seem that it was not an option open to them as the daemon couldn't connect with him, something to do with him having half of Snow's heart in his chest instead of his own. He supposed that he should be happy about that fact but he just couldn't be as he looked at the broken Pirate in front of him.

David's mind wandered to his wife back in Storybrooke and it brought a smile to his face. He hoped that she was looking for him, that she would find him as she always did but this time it was not just him that needed her help. He looked up again to watch his smoke signal as it billowed out of the hole above them, had anybody seen it? If only he could make sure that he could get a message out there they would be alright, he just knew it. With a sigh he pulled himself to his feet to gather up some more leaf litter to add to the flames, he needed more smoke to ensure they had their best chance.

He had literally just thrown a good amount of leaves into the flames when a sudden thought hit him. What if he didn't need this fire to get his message to Snow? Maybe the answer was so much easier... his heartbeat picked up as he ran across to his jacket rummaging in his pocket to pull out the potion that they had tried to use on Thanatos and stared at it as he remembered Regina's words of warning.

"Do not let it touch your skin, no one here needs to be seeing into anyone elses soul anytime soon"

Would this work? Her heart lay in his chest, would they be joined in soul too? He had to find out. If there was any chance that it would get them out of here he had to try so he popped the cork and tipped the bottle watching as a few drops fell onto the palm of his left hand. He corked the bottle again a bit disappointed that nothing had happened when he suddenly found himself thrown back onto the sand gasping for breath as his emotions threatened to engulf him, his heart hammered in his chest as visions flew through his mind and right then he knew that his plan had worked but it didn't stop it from being too much to take and his eyes rolled back into his head and he finally lost his battle to stay conscious.

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Emma and Mary-Margaret made their way through the back entrance to Gold's shop, it was late and they were both tired and muddy. Emma felt emotional, they hadn't found anything, not a single thing and it was now too dark to carry on so for the second night her Dad and Hook were who knows where dealing with who knows what but she couldn't show how she felt, she had to stay strong for her Mom, she had to be feeling this too.

"Mom" Henry's call brought her from her thoughts and back into the room to see him getting up from his chair and running over to her "We've found something" he grinned widely and tugged her hand pulling her over to the table.

"Henry found something" Belle corrected with a smile of her own.

"What?" Emma said eagerly, she needed some good news about now.

"Here" Belle said pushing the book towards her "There is a hidden message in the cover of the book. It will take me a while to translate it but I'll get on it straight away"

Emma beamed at Henry "I knew you could do it"

"This is great news, thank you Belle." Mary-Margaret said with a smile "I'm going to grab Neal then we are heading home, I think we could all do with a shower and some food before bed"

"He's just through here" Belle pointed to the front shop "I'll help you get his things together"

Emma perched herself on the chair that Henry had vacated when she had come in and looked at her Son.

"So besides this how's your day been?" she asked with interest

"Awesome. Belle was showing me all this cool stuff." he moved to the other side of the room to pick up something but Emma would never find out what it was as Belle screamed her name from the other room and she was running before she realized what was happening.

She burst through the doorway to find Belle on her knees next to her Mom who lay on the floor with her hands clamped to either side of her head gasping for breath.

"What happened?" Emma screamed as she slid down on her knees next to her Mom

"I don't know, I was gathering up the baby's things when she just fell over"

"MOM... Mom can you hear me?" Emma cried out, she was worried, her Mom seemed to have passed out now, what the hell was going on? "Belle we need help, I have no idea what is going on here. She seemed fine, has been fine all day!"

"I'll call for an ambulance" Belle replied quickly as she jumped up from the floor but before she got anywhere near the phone to make the call Mary-Margaret started to come round with a groan.

"Mom are you OK?" Emma cupped the side of her face tipping it slightly so that when her Mom opened her eyes she was looking right at her and what Emma saw had her even more confused. Mary-Margaret smiled widely as she blinked tears from her eyes.

"Mom?"

"Oh Emma. He's alright, your Father is alright!"

"What?"

"I don't know how he did it but I can feel him, in here" Her Mom brought her hand to her chest and laid it over her heart.

"Your heart... you share a heart but how can you feel him? You've never been able to feel him before" Emma furrowed her brow in confusion, how had this happened?

"The potion!" Belle exclaimed

"Of course" Henry agreed "He must have got the potion on his skin. You and Grandpa share a heart so he can feel you and you can feel him. Grandma, this could help. Concentrate hard maybe we can find out where they are"

"Slow down Henry, let her have a minute. Can you get up?" Emma wanted to make sure that her Mom was alright before carrying on with anything.

Mary-Margaret nodded her head so Emma helped her to get up from the floor and they walked back through to the other room where she sat her down on the chair.

"It's strange" her Mom said closing her eyes and turning her head slightly "I can feel what he is feeling. To begin with it was all the feelings that he had for me coming through but now it's different"

Emma watched her Mom's face as she concentrated hard, she had started off so happy but now she looked anything but.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Mary-Margaret's eyes opened and Emma didn't need a potion to feel what she was feeling, she could see it written on her face and it worried her to death.

"Your Father is fine, a bit scraped up but he will be just fine" she said with a quirk of her lip

"OK... but that's not what you're worried about is it? Mom, what about Hook?" She knew that her Mom was hiding something.

"It's not clear, it's not like I can read your Father's thoughts. I just get glimpses, visions but he is worried about him." she reached forward and took Emma's hands in hers

Emma's heart sank, she had known that something was wrong, she had been feeling it all day and trying to convince herself that she was wrong.

"I do know something for sure though, we are looking in the wrong place. They are in a cave, it has a hole high above them and your Father has lit a fire to let us see the smoke so first thing tomorrow as soon as the sun is up we are going to get them and Hook will be just fine, do you hear me Emma? We are bringing them both home"

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Mary-Margaret stooped over the crib to pick up her Son, she paused to check his blankets were in place and used the moment to try and gather her thoughts. Everything was so confusing, she could literally feel everything that David was feeling and it scared her. He was REALLY worried about Hook, it was bad but Mary-Margaret couldn't tell Emma that, no, she needed her Daughter to keep hope.

With a sigh Mary-Margaret finally picked up Neal and snuggled him to her chest but she was unprepared for the surge of love that ran through her, David knew that the baby was in her arms and she could literally feel the Father's love for the first time and it was beautiful. Tears sprung into her eyes as the emotion threatened to overwhelm her again but she smiled, it was wonderful to feel how he felt for their child.

"You OK?" Emma spoke as she walked up to her side

Mary-Margaret sniffed hard, she glanced up with the smile still on her face to look at their Daughter and felt the surge of emotion again.

"Your Dad is just letting me know how much he loves us"

"How's he doing?" Emma asked quietly

"He's fine Emma, a bit sore but nothing too bad." she knew what was coming next and she wished she had a better answer.

"And Hook? I mean how's Dad feeling about Hook?"

Mary-Margaret closed her eyes and tried to gathers her feelings to ask the question and it seemed to work as an image of the battered Pirate appeared in her mind. She felt David's worry grow as he held Hook in his arms bringing a bottle of water up to his mouth to help him drink only to have him choke when the water seemed to be too much for him to manage. She couldn't tell Emma this... so she didn't, she lied.

"He's sleeping Emma and he's warm by your Dad's fire, he'll be just fine once we get him help." she tried to sound convincing but the look on Emma's face was not one of belief but to her credit she just smiled and said nothing before turning to Henry.

"Come on Kid, lets go home" Emma scrubbed the tears from her face with her sleeve as she moved. "We have a few hours before sunrise and we are going to need all our wits about us if we are going to defeat this daemon and get your Grandpa and Hook home"

Mary-Margaret smiled at her Daughter as they made their way out onto Main Street but her heart was thumping in her chest as they turned towards home. David was panicking and she didn't know why but she could feel it, she concentrated hard trying to get him to calm down but an image of Hook panting in David's arms sprang into her mind. Hook needed help, he looked terrible and Mary-Margaret could tell by David's emotions that he felt the same way but she was getting something else. She tipped her head again trying to focus her thoughts, why did David not want Hook to sleep, it very much looked like sleep would be the best thing for him but David was adamant and as she concentrated she suddenly stopped in the middle of the street as David's voice sounded in her head making her gasp loudly.

"HOOK... don't you dare fall asleep on me, you need to stay awake. He can't touch you here, come on stay with me. Don't do this to Emma"

"Mom? What's going on?" Emma's voice broke through Mary-Margaret's concentration

"I can hear your Father Emma, hang on" she raised a hand in a shushing motion then closed her eyes again and listened intently but she was only getting half of the conversation so it was quite confusing as David's emotions flooded her system again.

"They're on their way I promise but you can't sleep now, if you do I'm not sure you will wake up and we can't have that. I know you are exhausted but he can't harm you while you're awake so suck it up and deal with it, pretend like you are steering that precious ship of yours into a storm, you wouldn't leave her to her own devices would you?"

Mary-Margaret knew then that they couldn't wait until morning, Hook needed them now. She opened her eyes and looked at Emma and Henry standing anxiously by her side, Mary-Margaret sucked in a deep breath and said in a loud clear voice with as much authority as possible.

"Change of plan... we head out tonight" she said nodding her head firmly before turning on her heals and marching back through the front door to Gold's shop leaving the others standing outside in confusion.


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm really enjoying writing this fic... it's all coming together quite nicely.**

 **Unfortunately for Hook that means more whump!**

 **My Bad :)**

 **Ad Liberandum, To The Rescue**

David had come too quite quickly feeling everything all at once but he was happy, he could feel Mary-Margaret and that was enough for him, he had his answers, they were definitely looking for him and Hook but he hadn't managed to stay concentrating on that for long as the Pirate chose that moment to come around too with another long groan.

David had been so close to grabbing the Pirate with his potion infused hand only realizing right at the last second what he was about to do to pull his hand back with a jerk, the last thing either of them needed was that blast of emotion. He quickly wrapped his palm with some remnants of Hook's torn up shirt then moved back to the Pirate's side with concern, he looked like absolute hell as he lay breathing heavily on the sand eyes rolling in his head clearly close to passing out again but David moved quickly, he had to keep him awake.

"Hook, come on open your eyes... look at me"

Hook just shook his head back and forth a couple of times then seemed to still, had he lost his battle to stay awake? David's heart slammed in his chest at the sight before him, injuries be dammed he grabbed hold of Hook and hauled him into his arms giving him a shake to bring him round but the keen that left the Pirate's throat had him feeling guilty as he watched his face morph into a picture of total agony.

He watched in horror as Hook dry wretched a couple of times before eventually flopping back against his front to gaze up at him through hooded eyes. David quickly grabbed another bottle of water and opened it holding so that the Pirate could get a drink, even though he had not actually been sick there had to be a nasty taste in his mouth but as Hook tried to drink deeply the water seemed to catch in his throat and he desended into a coughing fit clutching at his ribs desperatley until he got his breathing back under control then just slumped bonelessly into David's arms too exhausted to do anything else.

"HOOK... don't you dare fall asleep on me, you need to stay awake. He can't touch you here, come on stay with me. Don't do this to Emma"

"Leave me be...let it take me... Swan is not coming" he practically whispered, had he given up hope?

David was not having it, he had to let Hook know that they were going to be alright, that the others would be there soon.

"They ARE on their way I promise so you can't sleep now, if you do I'm not sure you will wake up and I can't have that. I know you are exhausted but he can't harm you while you're awake so suck it up and deal with it, pretend like you are steering that precious ship of yours into a storm, you wouldn't leave her to her own devices would you?"

Hook didn't look convinced as he just shut his eyes again with a sigh seemingly determined to sleep.

"Killian, please don't do this. I don't want to have to tell Emma that I lost you, that it was my fault that you never came home" he pleaded with the Pirate hoping that this would work.

He watched in anticipation as Hook's right eye popped open and he looked straight up at him.

"Dirty trick... poor form" he grumbled "And don't ever call me Killian...it just sounds wrong... makes it sound like you actually care... what would people think?" he gave a weak smirk as his eye closed again

"Yeah well I don't care what people think." David said sincerely "You cannot let this damned daemon win, we need to fight. The others are on their way, I promise"

Hook shook his head again but his eyes remained closed "They think... we are dead... the bloody daemon saw to that"

"No, if that's what he told you he lied. I promise they are coming. I used some of the potion on myself, I'm linked to Mary-Margaret remember, through our hearts. Yeah that blast of emotion is not something that I can put into words but when I say that I know they are coming it's not because I hope they are it's because I KNOW they are"

Hook had opened his eyes fully now and there was something new in his face, he actually looked like he believed what David had just said.

"She told me that no one was looking... that they were having funerals for us tomorrow" Hook's eyes danced back and forth again obviously remembering what had happened when he was sleeping.

"She?" David asked cautiously, who had the daemon appeared as this time?

Hook just closed his eyes shaking his head again as he dragged in some deep breaths but that brought a grimace to his face and his hand came up to clamp against his sore ribs as he grit his teeth.

"It was Emma wasn't it, that bastard pretended to be my Daughter" David was livid, this was one step too far.

"I knew it was not her...don't worry...I was prepared this time. I dread to think what would have happened... if this had been earlier when I was not aware that I was dreaming... Everything seems so real... there is no difference between reality and the dream world." He closed his eyes again and let his breath escape in a long sigh before adding "I just need sleep... I am so tired."

"I know but you can't, Emma is coming. They all are." David said pulling Hook slightly closer and adjusting the Pirate's jacket over him to ensure he was warm enough "So I suggest you pick the topic of conversation and we go from there"

Hook chuckled but David could still see his eyes rolling in his head, he really was fighting sleep "I don't think our interest align much Highness... Pirates and Princes don't usually socialize in the same circles"

"Oh I don't know, we have both fought some pretty epic battles, faced some pretty cool monsters."

"Aye but none quite like this one..." Hook opened his eyes again to look up at him in earnest.

"Yeah maybe BUT they all have one thing in common" David smiled at the confused look on Hook's face. "We defeated them, every single one.

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Emma had not managed to get much information out of her Mom other than they were running out of time, she was giving nothing away other than Hook needed them but Emma knew that it must be bad, she could tell by the haunted look that her Mom wore when she thought that no one was looking. It had been about an hour since her Dad had managed to connect with her Mum and she was concerned that it was getting too much for her to handle.

Emma now stood in the front of Gold's shop next to the others who had all gathered there, they had the map laid out across the floor looking for the cave that her Mom had seen from the inside her Dad's mind a while ago, yeah that was weird.

"It has to be this one" Robin said pointing at a hill on the map quickly from his position on the floor "It's the only one that has a hole in it, we came across it once while out hunting not long after arriving here, nearly lost John in it. The hole is directly in the middle of an outcrop of rocks which hid it from view and we only found it when Little John ventured too close. We never investigated the cave below just glad that we had managed to stop my man from falling to his death"

"That is going to take all night to get too" Emma complained but Regina scoffing next to her had her looking up with raised eyebrows at the Queen

"Emma, when will you EVER remember that you have magic. I can poof us there in a matter of seconds and you could too if you would just concentrate that feeble mind of yours" she curled her lip in disapproval and if she was being honest Emma was slightly annoyed with herself for not thinking of her magic but right now her mind was anything but clear so she brushed it off.

"Great." Mary-Margaret said quickly cutting off any retort that Emma would perhaps have given "Belle can you look after Neal a bit longer?"

"Of course" Belle said with a smile "and Henry too"

"WHAT? No" Henry turned to Emma with pleading eyes "I want to help"

"I'm sorry Kid, not gonna happen. If this works out how we planned it it's gonna be short and sweet. Regina has come up with a spell that should kill Thanatos once and for all then we are out of there"

Henry looked like he was about to protest but Regina cut him off.

"Henry please, listen to your Mothers for once."

Emma watched as every emotion seemed to wash over her Son's face but he eventually just sighed stepping back towards the table grumbling "Fine"

"Right, are we ready people? I can bring us to the top of the hill then from there we can get inside once I can see what I am dealing with." Regina turned to the rest of the group to make sure they were ready to go.

Emma, Mary-Margaret, Robin and Regina all stepped forward into a tight circle, Regina gave Emma a reassuring look as the purple cloud engulfed them cutting the others off from her view.

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Henry knew he had one chance to make his move, he had picked up the book from the table to make it look like he was going to go back to his studying but the minute his Mom's Purple cloud had started to appear he launched himself forward and gripped onto the nearest person that just happened to be his Grandma who gave a squeal of surprise as he collided with her.

Seconds later he was lying in a heap, it was dark as he lay in the cool night air but he was definitley outside, it had worked!

"Mom" Emma's voice sounded out as a flashlight clicked on and pointed towards where he lay, he was so busted.

"HENRY" Regina's voice called out

"I'm sorry but I couldn't just stay there, I can help, I know it"

"We will deal with this later" Regina gave him a stern look before reaching out her hand and pulling him to his feet as Emma helped his Grandma up beside him. "We need to get this done"

Robin had moved over to the hole and was peering down inside so Henry ran over to join him, lying down quickly on his stomach to lean over the large boulder for a better view.

"DAVID" Robin's voice echoed around in the space beneath and Henry peered through hoping to see what was going on and when he saw Killian lying in his Grandpa's arms looking at him he gave a quick wave and a grin.

"Hurry, we need to get him out of here" David yelled back looking straight up at them then nodding his head to the Pirate in his arms

"Hang on, we'll be down in a second" Robin called back as Regina took a quick glance down into the cave.

"Alright lets go get them" she said taking hold of Henry's hand "You stay behind me Henry, no matter what, do you hear me?"

He nodded his head emphatically, this was going to be awesome, a real rescue mission.

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Killian didn't know if he was dreaming again or not, had he just seen Robin's face high above him? David called out into the cave so it must be true, surely? Then Henry's face appeared too and he knew that it was real as the boy gave him a wave, Thanatos only seemed to be able to conjure one person at a time and he was definitely seeing two high above him and David. His eyes closed again as he relaxed back into the Prince's arms too exhausted to really appreciate his friends above him, he knew that he was safe, they were finally getting out of here.

"Just hang on Hook, they're coming. Open your eyes, we're not out of here yet" David gave him a slight prod as if to emphasize his point but the motion had Killian grasping at his chest again.

"Bloody Hell Mate, watch the ribs" he groaned

"Well open your damned eyes then and I'll stop poking you" David's tone was much lighter than his words and when Killian opened his eyes he knew that David had not meant to hurt him by the look on his face.

"Like Father like Daughter" Killian chuckled remembering how Swan had used his broken ribs against him back when he had first come to town.

David looked confused but movement over by the fire had both them both looking over to see their friends and family appearing in Regina's purple cloud.

"David!" Mary-Margaret's voice called out even before the smoke had even disappeared and Killian watched as David's eyes shone with tears when he looked at his wife as she ran to his side. He had been too busy looking at the Prince above him so hadn't seen Emma until she was suddenly in his face and he couldn't help it when his memory collided with reality and he practically jumped out of his skin at her image in front of him.

Instant agony engulfed him leaving him writhing in David's arms, he could hear Emma apologizing to him but he couldn't reply, he could do anything.

"I'm sorry, what did I do?" She sounded so upset but he still could do nothing to sooth her as he struggled to calm his breathing and bring his pain levels back under some sort of control.

"It's alright, he'll be OK in a minute just keep your movements slow and keep your voice down. I'll explain later" David's voice said in reply and Killian was grateful to the Prince for the assistance.

Eventually after what seemed like forever the pain died down enough for him to open his eyes again and he could see Emma still sitting by his side smiling at him.

"Swan?" he asked cautiously, he wanted to believe it was her so badly but his body seemed to remember all too well what this face had done to him not that long ago as he broke out in a cold sweat and a shiver ran through him.

She smiled so sweetly at him as the tears tumbled down her cheeks that his heart lurched, this was her, this was his Swan, he reached out his hand and took hers gently giving it a squeeze but their moment was interrupted by David speaking.

"Emma, can you take him, I need to see your Mom and help get us out of here"

"Of course" was all she replied as she sat herself down and David slowly passed him over, it hurt, a lot but Killian tried his best not to show it as he was settled into Emma's arms.

"DO NOT LET HIM SLEEP" David added raising his eyebrows high on his head "That daemon is still out there" and then he was gone from Killian's field of view.

"Why can't you sleep?" Emma asked quietly

"It doesn't matter right now Swan, why would I want to sleep with you holding me in your arms?" he gave a chuckle but it turned into a cough which left him gasping for air again until it passed, he was so tired all he wanted to do was close his eyes and sleep but he fought it with his entire being, for his Swan.

"You OK?" Emma's face was a mask of worry as she fussed with his jacket pulling it up to make sure he was still covered.

"Aye Love, I am perfect now that you are here" he managed to breath out, he could feel sleep practically pulling at him, tugging him away from her and he didn't want to go.

"Hook, open your eyes"

When had he closed them?

"Sorry Love" he said opening them again to meet her gaze "Tired"

"I know and you'll get to sleep soon but you can't just yet"

He hoped she was right, his vision was graying around the edges and he knew sooner or later sleep would take him whether he wanted to go or not.


	11. Chapter 11

*****BE WARNED THERE IS SOME SERIOUS WHUMP AHEAD... Proceed with caution and do not say that I did not warn you.*****

 **Will they defeat the daemon?**

 **There is only one way to find out... Let us venture forth and find out.**

 **Salvo Praedonum, Saving the Pirate**

David pulled Mary-Margaret in to his arms and hugged her tightly to his front, the experience was something wonderful as he literally felt her love for him seeping into his very bones soothing away his worries for the Pirate.

"I'm OK" he whispered against Snow's hair when he felt her concern for him but his attention was pulled away by Regina talking to him as she walked to his side followed by Robin, she was all business obviously just wanting to beat this daemon and get out of here.

"Where is Thanatos? I can feel he has been here"

"Not sure, he's only shown himself a couple of times but he doesn't look like he did before

, he looks like an old man with white hair now" David answered pulling Mary-Margaret round to his side and throwing his arm over her shoulders tucking her close against himself, she encircled his middle with her arms and he felt another wave of reassurance from her.

David could see Henry stooping down next to Emma and talking to Hook, the Pirate was answering back and David thought his Grandson would be a good distraction for the Pirate but as David spoke to Regina Henry looked around in surprise.

"Really? There was nothing in the book about him being able to change his appearance." His brow was furrowed deeply and he looked really confused

"And there was nothing in the book about him kidnapping people either but he did that too" Emma grit out not looking up from the Pirate in her arms.

"Anyway, we have established that he is not all he seems but that doesn't mean that he is not dangerous. I thought he was going to be here but he's..." Regina trailed off as she narrowed her eyes slowly turning around to look into the darkness "Henry, get over here now"

Henry looked confused but to his credit he just did as he was told leaving Emma where she was but David needn't have worried that she was exposed to the danger as Regina and Robin moved forward as one to stand at the Pirate's feet to offer some protection.

"I know you are there" Regina called out "I can feel you"

David stared into the darkness and still nothing happened but they were all caught by surprise when Emma suddenly cried out from behind them.

"HOOK! Killian..." she shook him but he was out cold again and David was moving to their side in seconds followed by Mary-Margaret.

"Let me take him Emma, you need to help Regina" he said urgently

"He was awake one second but then he was gone, why won't he wake up?" Her eyes were wide with fear.

"I don't have time to explain Emma but he won't wake up until you defeat that daemon so I'm begging you, please hurry, I don't know how much more he can take"

She moved quickly after that and David pulled Hook back into his own arms throwing the jacket back to try and look out for new injuries. He silently prayed that Regina could dispense of Thanatos quickly for Hook's sake.

"Hey, calm down" Mary-Margaret cut into his thoughts

"Sorry, I know that you can feel this too but I'm not sure you understand fully what he's been through, that damn daemon has been torturing him in his sleep but to him it plays out as reality." he lowered his voice so Emma wouldn't hear "Look at him Mary-Margaret, he is black and blue but what you're not seeing is the arrow wound in his back and a huge gash across his front, he's lost a lot of blood and I'm not sure he can take much more"

He could feel her emotions rushing through him as her eyes fell onto Hook's battered form and her hand came up to cover her mouth when she gasped at what she saw.

They looked at each other in silence knowing the importance of the next few minutes as they turned to see what the others were doing, hoping this would all be over soon.

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Killianblinked his eyes against the harsh artificial light, where was he? He tried to focus but the light was searing into his brain making his head hurt.

"Shhhhhh... it's OK" Emma's voice spoke next to him and he couldn't help it when he jumped again at the sound of her voice and part of him hated himself for it, if it was Swan by his side he didn't want to make her feel guilty for something that was not her fault.

He tried to open his eyes again but the light was still too bright but in the next few seconds he heard a noise and the light was gone. What was going on? Was this really Emma? He remembered being in the cave and she was there but after that there was nothing. He finally managed to peek through his lashes to see Emma's scared face by his side.

"Swan?" he croaked, Gods he was so thirsty.

"Hey, it's me. You've been out for a while but it's still late, why don't you go back to sleep?" she reached across and brushed the hair from his forehead letting her fingers trail down the side of his face.

"Where am I?" he was very confused, was this real? He just wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Hospital, we did it" She smiled at him widely "We beat him"

He looked about him cautiously, was it really over? He certainly seemed to be lying in a hospital bed but then again he had thought that he had been in Neverland when this all started. He tried to sit himself up a bit to get a better look but the minute he moved his whole body seized in pain. He clamped his hand to his stomach fingers digging beneath the dressing to find exactly what he was searching for. His would was still open, he had no sutures. If he were truly back in Storybrooke this would not be the case and he certainly wouldn't be in as much pain as this, they had drugs there that would have had him feeling like he was floating on a cloud but he couldn't let the daemon know that he knew this, the others needed time to defeat this beast so he would have to play along for the time being.

He settled back on his pillows and smiled as best he could through the pain as fake Emma stood next to him, he eyed her nervously as she took hold of his hand, he tried his best not to flinch but even if he hadn't known this to be the daemon and it really had been Emma he wasn't sure he would have succeeded.

She squeezed his hand in hers and lent in close, her other hand still cupped his face and her thumb started to move in what was supposed to be a soothing motion under his eye but he was anything but soothed, he tried to relax his rigid body in a vain attempt to look like he was happy to have the beasts hand on his face but it would seem that she wasn't to be fooled so easily.

"I know you know that it's not her, I can tell by the look on your face" she said suddenly grabbing his hair and yanking his head to the side making him clamp his eyes shut at the resulting pain but they didn't remain shut he needed to know what she was doing.

He grit his teeth as she let his hand go to pull something from underneath her jacket, his eyes going wide when she pulled out a short blade and made a show of running it over his skin before stopping to hold it to against throat where he could feel the tip digging in as a trickle of blood ran down his neck.

"It would seem that it is time for us to say goodbye Killian Jones, it has been fun although with regret I do have to leave but before I go I think I have time for one last taste of that delicious soul of yours"

Killian tried to move, tried to get away but she was too strong and he just didn't have the strength to do anything to defeat her. He watched in horror as she trailed the knife back across his skin, she moved the blade down over his collar bone where it nicked his skin making him hiss through his teeth but she just pulled his hair tighter and carried on. It traveled down the center of his chest and onto the soft skin just below his rib cage where she stopped.

"I had hoped we would have had longer but alas all good things must come to an end. You see this blade, beautiful isn't it? Smooth and perfect on one side and jagged and rough on the other. Do you know what they were used for?"

She held it up for him to see, it lay flat on the palm of her hand so he could see the whole thing and as he got a good look he could see exactly what it was for, it was a throwing knife, smooth and sleek with no hilt just one piece of metal carved into a deadly weapon.

"I can see from your face that you recognize it. Do you know why I like these particular knives?" she paused as if he was really going to answer her but he never got the chance as she looked into his eyes staring into his soul then in one swift she raised the knife quickly and plunged it into his front leaving it there, protruding from his skin.

He couldn't take his eyes from it not feeling the pain just yet but that didn't last, before long with every breath he took he could feel the blade grating against one of his ribs as the ridged edge moved up and down as his chest hitched and lurched working to take in oxygen even when it was the last thing he wanted to do anymore. Fake Emma laughed loudly but even after she had finally let go of his hair he couldn't move, he was just frozen to the spot staring at the blade sticking through his skin.

"I like these knives because they slide so easily into the flesh" She reached forward and placed one finger on the top of the knife pushing it slowly and this time Killian couldn't help the yell that escaped him as he felt it cutting him deep inside but she didn't stop, she just grinned wider as she brought her whole hand up and placed her palm where her finger had been moments before.

"Farewell Captain, it's been fun" she said with a wink before raising her hand up then slamming it down again to send the whole knife beneath his skin deep inside his body where it stayed hidden from sight.

After that he knew no more other than he truly was in hell...

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What was taking so long? David watched as Regina stalked her way forward with Emma close on her heals. He glanced down at Hook in his arms when he thought he felt him move, eyeing him carefully he realized that something was different, furrowing his brow he looked at him closely, he was breathing in shuddering breaths which meant he was not under Thanatos' control anymore, when he was gone he just lay still with no movement other than the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Why was he back so soon, it had literally been minutes? David threw back Hook's vest and panic hit him hard when he revealed the hole that was leaking blood at an alarming rate on the right side of the Pirate's chest just beneath his ribs.

David didn't hesitate he just dumped Hook down onto the sand and slammed his hands over the wound pressing down hard to stem the flow of blood. He knew that Mary-Margaret could feel what he was feeling, that she knew what was happening and seconds later she dropped down next to him with her own blouse held out in her hand for him to use in a vain attempt and stop the bleeding. He took it bunching it up and pressing it to Hook's front eliciting a whine from the Pirate as his back arched up from the ground obviously trying to get away from the pain.

"Nooooooooooo" Hook moaned as his hand came up to try and stop David but his attempts were feeble .

A lump appeared in Davids throat when the next words were muttered as the Pirate writhed beneath his hands.

"P-p-please...no more... stop... hurts " but this was the last that he said, he seemed to lose his fight and just slumped back panting heavily as his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out again.

After a few seconds David glanced to the side to see Snow tugging her sweatshirt back over her head and she gave him a worried look, there was no need for words, they both knew what was going on here even without their connection.

Hook was dying right in front of their eyes.

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"I know you're here" Regina called again "Why don't you come out and face me?"

Again there was only silence but Regina knew that the daemon was there and she'd had enough. She raised her hands up and sent out what looked like bolts of lightening, they raced to all the darkest parts of the cave fizzling loudly before bursting out into a bright white light to show every nook and cranny but still there was no one there.

"So you are using magic then." she simply said twitching her lip and stepping forward, she paced in a wide circle with her hands spread out in front of her, she could feel his magic in the air it was only a matter of time before she found him.

There... she had him. He was not far off, hiding in plain sight but now that she knew where he was she could see him in her mind.

"I see you" she smirked and raised her hands higher before casting her spell "No one can hide from me. You think that I wouldn't see through a basic cloaking spell?"

Right before her eyes the daemon shimmered back into his human form and he had a look of utter shock on his face but he wasn't looking at her he was looking behind her. She wasn't going to be fooled and nearly laughed at his feeble attempt to trick her but Henry yelling out in surprise had her turning to see the book in his hands glowing, he dropped it quickly stepping back into Emma's outstretched arms and they all watched in horror as the winged beast that had emerged from the library two days before shimmering back to life and hovered just above the fallen book.


	12. Chapter 12

**Updates will probably not be as regular from here on in as I am struggling to keep up with work and the silly season preparations, I hope you guys understand and I promise that whenever I get the chance there will be a chapter.**

 **Thanks for sticking with me :D**

 **Verum Operatio, Operation Truth**

Emma pulled Henry behind her as the beast turned to face them spreading it's wings wide and giving a low growl but she had no time to think as Regina called out to her.

"Use the spell Swan, you take the beast version I'll take the old man if we hit them together the spell will be twice as powerful when we hit both versions at once."

Emma nodded her head and raised her hands just waiting on Regina's cue and when it came from a nod of the Queen's head Emma concentrated all her energy into the spell, she needed this to be over, needed to get her family home. White sparks flew from her finger tips and engulfed the daemon, it howled throwing it's head back, the spell was working she could feel it and right before her eyes the beast exploded shimmering out of existence. Emma turned quickly to see the Old Man meet the same fate and the cave fell into silence as they all stood breathing heavily, it was finally over!

"EMMA" her Dad's cry had her turning quickly to see her worst nightmare coming true right there on the floor of that cave. She ran forward throwing herself down onto the sand at Hook's side opposite her Father, her Pirate was completely lifeless and had turned a terrifying shade of gray, what the hell had happened?

"He was awake but he's losing too much blood, Emma you have to help him" David pleaded

She had never used healing magic successfully before but she'd give it a go... for Hook she would try anything. She held out her hands directly over her Dad's clenched fists and she could feel her magic springing to life once more, she smiled widely as her hands glowed brightly but her smile didn't last long when David pulled the fabric back to reveal a fresh pulse of blood flowing from the wound on Hook's chest.

"I don't understand, it was working, I could feel it!" she exclaimed in frustration

"Out of the way Swan, we have no time for magic lessons right now" Regina barked out practically shoving Emma to the side to get to Hook.

Regina's hands glowed brightly but Emma watched Hook's face in anticipation, he would be awake soon and she wanted hers to be the first face that he saw, she wanted him to know that it was over and that they would be OK but it never happened, Regina's next words had Emma's world falling apart.

"It's not working, why is it not working?" Regina yelled shaking her hands out frantically then trying again to make her magic work.

"This all happened when he was sleeping, does that effect anything?" David threw back just as frantically

"I'm not sure... all I know is that magic is no use. Gather close, I am going to get him to Whale, I am sorry to say that that hack is probably Hook's best chance right now."

They all huddled in but Emma couldn't look at anything other than the unconscious Pirate in front of her, she couldn't lose him. He had been talking to her not five minutes before, he had been fine. How had this happened?

Then the cave was gone and they were in the ER, the noise was too loud and there were too many people all at once, everything happened much too quickly for Emma to comprehend as she was suddenly left standing watching a team of medics pushing the man she loved away from her on a gurney... then the tears fell.

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David was numb, he didn't know what to do with himself. He had been so focused on Hook for such a long time that he felt like he was missing something now that the Pirate was no longer by his side needing his care. He felt a hand slide across his back and the surge of love from his wife pulsed through him but it was still no comfort, he needed to know what was happening with Hook. He turned to look at Mary-Margaret knowing that she was feeling the same way and he was unashamed by the tear that tumbled down his face, their merged emotions kept overwhelming him but right now he didn't care who saw, he just wanted answers.

"He'll be OK" she said with a sweet smile wiping at her own face.

David couldn't answer, he had seen Hook with his own two eyes and he had been anything other than OK. He lent back on the chair he was still sitting in and looked at the clock, nearly eight hours had passed with no news, this couldn't be good.

He couldn't take anymore.

He stood quickly and marched over to the reception desk. The irony was not lost on him, he had been the one to keep Emma from doing exactly this several times assuring her that as soon as there was news someone would come to them but even he didn't believe that anymore, it had been far too long. The poor girl behind the desk had smiled widely at him as he had approached but something on his face had wiped her grin clean off, yeah he was in no mood for pleasantries.

"Killian Jones" he barked out

"What can I do for you Mr Jones?" she asked cautiously

"No..." he sighed and tried to calm himself down knowing that what was happening was nothing to do with the girl in front of him and he shouldn't be taking it out on her. "I'm sorry, I need to know what is happening with Killian Jones, he was brought in last night"

She gave a nervous smile before moving over to the computer and quickly typing on the keyboard. David watched as she read the screen eyes going wide at what she was seeing before she turned with a small cough and walked back over to him.

"I'm sorry. All it says is that he is in surgery" she shrugged a little as if to apologize looking very nervous as she met his eyes.

He didn't believe her, not one little bit but he knew how to get what he wanted.

"Hang on" he said and turned back to the chairs in the waiting room to see the hopeful faces of his family staring at him. He raised a finger to tell them to hang on while he pulled his badge from his jacket pocket that lay on an empty chair and headed back over to the desk again.

"Now, you may not recognize me, I have been through quite a lot over the last few days so I'm not looking my best but I am the Sheriff so when I ask you to tell me how Killian Jones is I expect you to be truthful with me and if this badge isn't enough the Mayor is just outside, she'll be back in just a second perhaps you would like to see what she has to say?" He kept his voice low and steady so as to not let anyone else hear his threat, legally he didn't have a leg to stand on and he knew it, he just hoped that she didn't.

She eyed him suspiciously then glanced toward the door as if she was looking to see if he was telling the truth and as if on cue Regina walked back through the doors with Robin causing the girl to gasp in a breath then look back to him with a face full of fear.

"I could get into trouble" she squeaked eyes going wide.

"Only if someone finds out" David replied giving her a meaningful look.

She looked like she was fighting her own will but when Regina called out to ask if everything was alright the girl buckled under the pressure and blurted out

"He is still in surgery, I wasn't lying but..." she paused giving him a pleading look but he didn't back down, he needed to know what was happening. "There has been a complication shall we say"

"What kind of complication?" the words flew from his mouth louder than he meant them to be, what the hell was going on?

"Please I could lose my job" she begged and the look on her face made something inside him click, what was he doing? This poor girl was only trying to do her job and he was being a bully.

"I'm sorry" he mumbled as he turned away in shame "I just wanted to know what was happening with my friend"

"I understand, I'm sorry I couldn't help" she did sound genuinely sorry but he just felt empty inside, he had nothing to tell the others as he walked back across the room.

"Well?" Emma said as he reached their sides

"He's still in surgery... that's all she could tell me, she doesn't know anything else" he said with a sigh as he watched their faces fall.

It broke his heart to see the hope go out in Emma's eyes but he was helpless, there was nothing he could do to make this better for her... for himself... and it was killing him.

"I'm going to get a coffee, who wants one?" he said just so he could get out of there, he felt like he couldn't breath, the walls seemed to be closing in on him as his heart beat wildly in his chest.

Everyone shook their heads and being honest he was quite glad, he wasn't sure he would have remembered what everyone had wanted as he practically sprinted from the room towards the front doors and out into the parking lot. He turned quickly walking out of view before leaning his back against the wall and sliding down onto the ground where he sat just staring up at the sky as the sun began to rise.

He felt her coming before he saw her, she must have been able to find him purely from his emotions, they were raging out of control and threatening to consume him whole.

He was so tired, exhausted even, having had very little sleep but he knew that there was no way that he would do any sleeping anytime soon... not until he had news.

"I won't ask if you're OK, I know you're not" Mary-Margaret said sliding down the wall to sit next to him with a sigh.

He smirked and looked to the side as she came down to his level but all she did was take hold of his hand and hold it tightly in hers.

"What did she really say?" Mary-Margaret eventually asked looking at him with worried eyes.

He sighed too, he should have known that she knew that he lied. "All she said was that there had been a complication... she wouldn't say what but I saw her face when she looked at the computer screen Mary-Margaret, it can't be good... "

She sighed again and tipped her head back against the wall to look up at the sky too.

"Well, there is only one way to find out isn't there" she said with a smirk and he could feel her hope, she had a plan, a good one, he could feel it.

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Emma's leg wouldn't stop bouncing, she was just a huge ball of nervous energy that needed to know what was happening otherwise she was going to go insane or explode, neither of which would be pretty.

Henry had fallen asleep on the couch opposite her, snuggled into Regina's side with Robin on his other side but Emma sat alone, David had left a while ago saying he was going for coffee but she wasn't buying it, he had practically ran from her after speaking to the receptionist. Mary-Margaret had gone after him and had disappeared too, did they know something? Was it bad news and her Dad was trying to deal with it first before breaking the news to her?

God no... please don't let it be that!

Her heart was slamming into her ribs now that the thought had entered her head, she couldn't think of anything else as she let her mind run wild until her cell buzzed in her pocket bringing her back to reality.

She pulled her cell out to see her Mom's name on the display which only made her worry increase. She opened the text and read it to herself as her heart continued to beat wildly but by the time she finished she knew that her Dad hadn't lied, he didn't know what was going on. Hook was still alive but the receptionist was holding out on them but they had a plan to find out the truth.

She text back, she was in...

Emma sat herself forward trying to look innocent as she gave a yawn, she pulled herself to her feet and stretched out her spine before looking at Regina and whispering so she didn't wake Henry

"I'm going to stretch my legs, grab something to eat from one of the machines. Maybe I'll even find where my Parents have disappeared to" she added with a raised eyebrow and Regina just nodded her head in understanding.

She moved slowly not wanting to draw attention to herself but instead of following her Mom and Dad's earlier route she walked the other way past the reception desk giving the girl a kind look as she went by. She turned the corner and abruptly stopped leaning against the wall then peeked back around to make sure no one else was coming before firing off a text to her Mom to let her know that she was in position.

Now all she had to do was wait.

A few minutes later it was game on as her Mom and Dad came back in to the waiting room, they had literally just walked through the door when Dad did a swan dive worthy of an Oscar and her Mom yelled out his name in mock surprise falling to her knees at his side and pulling him into her arms. The receptionist was on her feet and running in seconds giving Emma exactly what she wanted as she dived back around the corner skidding to a halt behind the desk right by the computer that held all her answers. She typed quickly bringing up Hook's file and read what was displayed... her stomach dropped into her boots.

This couldn't be right? He had still had a knife inside him?! How was that even possible? He'd been stabbed in a dream not in reality. Emma was so distracted that she failed to see anyone coming until Whale spoke and she practically fell over as she scrambled to get out from behind the desk but he didn't look annoyed just tired as he gave her a questioning look before glancing over to the others.

Whale looked back at her and sighed heavily "You might want to listen to what I have to say. I haven't had a chance to update that yet. I thought it was more important to come and update you guys in person and from the scene over there I guess that I was right" he said pointing to her Parents who were still causing havoc in the main waiting room.

"Is Hook OK?" she blurted out not caring that she had just been busted hacking into the hospital files.

"Come over to the others and I'll fill you all in at the same time" he gave her a sympathetic look but she couldn't read his expression, he was giving nothing away.

"Please, I just need to know that he is alive" she pleaded with the Doctor.

"He's alive Miss Swan" he replied with a nod but she could tell that he was not saying something and from what she had just read on that screen she had a horrible feeling that it wasn't good.

"It's bad isn't it? Did you get the knife out?" she grabbed hold of his arm to stop him walking away and his gaze fell down to her hand before looking back up at her face and sighing again realizing that he was getting away.

"It's not good but it could have been so much worse" he took a deep breath then carried on "Believe me when I say that he is a very lucky man. If that blade had not been left in he would have bled to death before he even got here so in a way it was a blessing in disguise but it has caused a lot of damage. We had to remove his right kidney..."

"WHAT?" Emma practically yelled in his face, no... this couldn't be real!

"I'm sorry Miss Swan I tried to save it but it was just too damaged, all being well he should manage fine with just one but he has a lot going on so we'll just have to wait and see how he fairs. He's already had two blood transfusions and is due a third at anytime to bring his blood volume back up to a suitable level. He has had both his feet cleaned, the left one wasn't too bad considering but his right leg has been set in a cast due to a fracture in his ankle. I have stitched the slash wound across his stomach and the gash on his face but the wound on his back which I believe was inflicted by an arrow caused a bit more of an issue as it had damaged his scapula but again he was lucky, if that arrow had hit a couple of inches either side of where it did he would not be here. He also has a lot of bruising across his whole body some of which is deep, his ribs are going to be sore for a while but luckily none of them are broken which is good, he's got enough going on without the added complications that broken ribs could have added to his recovery. He has a long way to go Miss Swan but he is fighting, he's not giving up."

Emma was numb, Hook was alive but from the sound of it he might not stay that way. He had had a kidney removed for God sake, could it get much worse?! She looked back at Whale but she couldn't speak, her jaw worked soundlessly as she just opened and closed her mouth struggling to find the right words.

"Do you want me to tell the others?" Whale eventually asked her with a kind smile and as she looked over his shoulder, she could see the others had stopped with their act and were now just standing waiting to hear what the Doctor had to say. Emma looked back at Whale and gave a simple nod of her head, she didn't want be the one to break this news and being honest she didn't know if she would be able to keep it together long enough to tell them everything. He nodded back before turning away and walking towards her family but she didn't follow, she couldn't join them, she needed to see Hook and she knew exactly where he was going to be, she had read in his file that he was going to be admitted to ICU room 44 so that's where she was going and heaven help anyone who tried to stop her from seeing him.


	13. Chapter 13

**OK, so after I warned you all yesterday that updates wouldn't be as regular I managed to get one done today lol.**

 **I have had a VERY productive day... finished work by 14:30, baked two batches of dog biscuits for Christmas and wrapped some gifts.**

 **I feel very proud of myself :D**

 **Poor David is really beating himself up over this whole thing, my heart breaks for the poor man**

 **Sarcinas, Burdens to Bear**

David held his hands under the hot water watching as the blood washed down the drain... Hook's blood.

He stood in the men's washroom knowing that it was the one place that his wife couldn't follow him, he needed time just to process what was happening, he felt sick to his stomach and had fled as soon as Whale had left them after filling them in on the Pirate's status.

David looked up at himself in the large mirror, he hardly recognized the man that stared back at him through red rimmed eyes. He watched as more tears fell, he just couldn't help it, everything was just so raw and as he watched the man in the mirror his mind just kept going over and over Whale's words.

"We had to remove his right kidney..." that was when David had switched off, not hearing anything else.

Someone walking through the door behind him had him giving a hard sniff and looking down so that his face was hidden from view but the issue with that was that he was once again left staring at his blood stained hands. He had removed the remnants of Hook's shirt and tossed it in the trash but the red stains that remained on his skin were a stark reminder of the events of the last few days and yet he couldn't bring himself to scrub them away.

"There you are" Robin's voice echoed off the tiles as he walked up to the sink next to him to wash his own hands "We were getting ready to send out a search party, have you seen Emma? It seems that they are just about ready to take us up to Hook's room"

David just shook his head not trusting his voice but Robin seemed to read between the lines anyway as he ducked down slightly to look at David's face and sighed heavily at the sight before him.

"Come on Mate, why don't you finish washing your hands and then we will all go, I am sure it will put your mind at ease once you see him with your own eyes"

David still couldn't look away from his hands as he held them under the water but they were yanked out seconds later as Robin practically yelled in his ear.

"David, what are you doing? This water is scalding hot! Let me see your hands" but David just stood in a daze as Robin grabbed his arms and tentatively touched the skin on his right hand eyes going wide at what he felt then David was being pulled back over to the sink and his hands were shoved back under the water and at first he felt no difference but after a few seconds he realized that this time the water was cold... really cold.

"What were you thinking?" Robin asked him urgently but he didn't answer, how could he explain?

Robin eyed him cautiously again dipping down to look into his face "David?" he sounded really concerned now but still David just couldn't talk as more tears spilled down his cheeks.

He was held under the water for what felt like forever but eventually Robin turned the water off and inspected his hands carefully making sure not to touch his potion infused left one.

"I don't think you've done any permanent damage but I think we should get Whale to check you out and not just for your hands either, you look awful Mate"

"I'm fine" David finally found his voice, he did not want Whale making a fuss of him, the Doctor had enough to do making sure that Hook was getting the care he needed without worrying about him too.

"So now you can talk" Robin said raising an eyebrow at him "Tell me what is going on in that head of yours"

David just shook his head and turned away as he lent forward to grip onto the edge of the sink, he suddenly felt quite nauseous again as images from earlier that day kept flitting through his head.

"David, whatever you are thinking to make yourself feel this way you are wrong, you did EVERYTHING in your power to help Hook, you got him through, you were there for him every step of the way."

David looked up at the man beside him, he had no clue what he was talking about, how could he?.

"I nearly killed him" David finally managed to whisper, still too ashamed to voice it louder.

"What?! David you are being ridiculous, you saved him" Robin brought his hand up and placed it on David's shoulder and it was one step too far as David's barriers finally broke.

"I felt it." he looked up and locked eyes with the thief to make sure he understood "I could feel that damned blade inside him but I pressed down anyway. I thought it was a rib, thought he had broken something but instead I was pushing that knife further into him... into his kidney! He begged me to stop, he writhed under my hands and pleaded with me to let him go but I didn't listen and now if he dies his blood is on my hands"

"You didn't know, none of us knew. If it hadn't been you pressing against that wound it would have been me. David, you are exhausted, you have been awake for nearly forty eight hours. Let me take you to Whale, I want to get you checked out"

Robin was only trying to help, David knew that but his words just burned further into his mind, he knew the truth, he had not been awake for nearly forty eight hours he had fallen asleep, he had left Hook alone to try and keep himself awake and that beast had pretended to be Emma. Thanatos had used his Daughter's face to beat the hell out of Hook and the image of the Pirate's fear filled eyes as Emma sank down next to him in that cave flew through David's mind, that was his fault, Hook would never be able to look at Emma the same way again.

That was the last straw for David, he lurched forward gripping onto the sink for dear life and puked his guts up as his own blood roared in his ears deafening him. He was vaguely aware of Robin shouting for help but his world was narrowing in too fast now as he slid to the floor, head hitting the hard tiles with a loud clunk, his world went dark.

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Emma pushed the door open slightly and stepped inside to find two nurses working on her Pirate, she stopped in her tracks as her eyes fell on Hook, the nurses were just settling him on to the bed and sorting out what looked like a million different machines. One of the nurses was an older woman with a kind face and the other was much younger but she looked like she was an all business and no nonsense kind of person, neither of them noticed Emma as she stood silently watching them and right now that was fine by her.

Emma's eyes moved back to the bed, Hook looked beyond awful, his skin was so pale it looked almost translucent as he lay on the white sheets but seconds later he was covered up as one of the nurses pulled his blankets up to his shoulders leaving his arms underneath, the older nurse turned and finally noticed Emma standing by the door and smiled sweetly at her.

"Can I help you?"

"Whale just filled me in" Emma replied, it wasn't a lie but she needn't have worried as the nurse beckoned her over.

"Come in Dear, don't just stand by the door, we won't bite. He's doing as well as can be expected, come on, come and see for yourself" the nurse said with another smile as Emma approached the bed nearest the window, the other one was empty and Emma hoped it stayed that way, she didn't want to share this space with anyone else.

Emma wanted to hold Hook's hand but it was hidden beneath the blanket and she didn't want to disturb him so she just stood hugging herself as she tried to take in what she was seeing. There was a heart rate monitor beeping steadily on the other side of the bed and Emma's eyes fell on it not wanting to look at Hook's face just yet, if she did it would mean that it was definitely him and she wasn't quite ready to admit that this was real.

The nurse walked up to Emma's side with a chair in her hands and placed it down near Hook's head before turning and speaking in a gentle voice.

"I know this is a lot to take in, why don't you sit down? Speak to him, it may help him come round again"

"He's been awake?" Emma suddenly found herself looking at Hook's face without meaning to, hoping to see him open his eyes but all she saw was the oxygen mask clamped over his mouth and nose, how could he look so tired when he was sleeping?

"Briefly, he was a bit confused but unless I'm mistaken he was asking for you? Either that or he has a strange fascination with a large white bird" the nurse laughed "I presume you are Swan"

Emma couldn't help it, she chuckled and turned to look at the nurse beside her "To him I am. My name is Emma... Emma Swan"

"The Sheriff?" Emma nodded in reply so the nurse carried on" Well I'm Tess and that's Luna, I guess we will be seeing quite a lot of each other until this handsome man gets out of here"

Tess threw Emma a wink and headed to the door but just as she was about to follow Luna out she turned back to Emma and whispered in a low tone.

"Take his hand, hold him close. He is a very lucky man to have his beautiful Swan by his side"

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Mary-Margaret had known something was wrong even before Robin had thrown the bathroom door open and yelled for help, she could feel David's guilt gnawing at him and then his utter panic as his world crashed in on itself.

That had been half and hour ago and she now sat by his side as Whale stitched the cut on his left temple.

"I want you to stay the night, I'm pretty sure you don't have a concussion but you are exhausted David. I'm going to get you a bed on the ward and sort you out with a sedative. You will feel much better in the morning" Whale said as he tied the last knot and snipped the thread.

"Not happening, I am fine" David said gruffly

"David please, you are anything but fine and don't even try to tell me differently, you know that you can't fool me anymore" Mary-Margaret needed him to know that she was worried, that she needed him to take care of himself.

He turned to her, eyes brimming with emotion and she could feel it bubbling up inside her as he pleaded with her.

"Mary-Margaret, I can't... I need to..." he didn't need to finish she knew exactly what he needed.

"OK" she sighed "but if you won't stay here please, once we've seen him promise me that we will go home and you will rest"

He just nodded his head as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down in his throat but it was enough for her, she knew he needed to do this. She hated that he was blaming himself for this and she hoped that seeing Hook would put his mind at ease then maybe he would finally allow himself to relax.

They gathered up their things and headed out the door walking down the long corridor towards ICU where they knew that the others would all be waiting. Regina and Robin had taken Henry up there just after David had passed out saying that they would fill Emma in and make sure that she was OK.

Mary-Margaret took a side glance at David, he looked distraught and she couldn't help but take some of the blame for that after all her emotions were causing a lot of his issues, he just wasn't used to dealing with this level of feelings and they kept overwhelming him and spilling over, she made a mental note to ask Regina how much longer the effects of the potion would keep this link between them open. In any other circumstance it would have been nice to see where this would have taken them, for them to be able to appreciate how the other felt but right here right now it was too hard for either of them to deal with.

Five minutes later they were standing looking at the door to Hook's room and Mary-Margaret could practically hear David's heart thumping in his chest. She reached forward and took hold of his hand saying nothing, she just walked forward tugging him behind her and pushed the door open. The sight before her had her jaw dropping as everyone turned with wide smiles on their faces but she wasn't looking at anyone other than the Pirate in the bed who was propped up on his pillows looking directly at David.

"About... bloody... time...Mate... I... do... believe... you... promised... me... marshmallows" he was definitely struggling but it was like he knew that David needed this, she turned to look at her husband's face expecting to see more tears but what she found made her heart lurch with joy as he stood with a huge grin on his face.

"Oh you'll get them but not until you are out of here... We need an open fire remember, I don't think Whale would appreciate me building one in here" he laughed out gripping Mary-Margaret's hand tightly in his and walking towards the bed.

"I... don't... know... might... make... this...place... a... bit... more...homely" Hook replied with a lopsided grin but his eyes had slid shut halfway through his sentence and Mary-Margaret watched as his breathing evened out in sleep.

Mary-Margaret was happy, her Daughter was beaming from ear to ear and she could literally feel the burden lifting from her Husband's shoulders... perhaps they were all going to be just fine after all.


	14. Chapter 14

**OK, compromise time. I have given you an update, it is shorter than normal but at least you have something to keep you going.**

 **Praegressus, Moving On**

David sat quietly on his chair near the foot of Hook's bed and just watched the Pirate as he slept peacefully for the first time in what felt like forever. It had been hours since Hook had last been awake but David wanted him to wake again, wanted to make sure that he would. The danger was gone, he knew that but he still couldn't help the bubble of worry that he felt while watching Hook's chest slowly rising and falling as the heart rate monitor beeped a steady beat.

"He's going to be fine" Mary-Margaret whispered by his side and for the first time he actually allowed himself to believed it.

David turned to look at his wife and gave her a tired smile, now that he had relaxed a bit he felt awful as everything seemed to catch up to him all at once. He ached in places that he never knew where sore and his head pulsed to the beat of his heart.

"I'm just going with Emma for a bit, I'll be back soon then we'll get you home" she said squeezing his shoulder lovingly and again he just nodded his head at her.

Mary-Margaret moved off to walk out into the corridor with Emma, Regina and Robin were going to go and collect Roland leaving a snoozing Henry and David alone in the room for a few minutes. The door slid closed and David's eyes fell back on to the Pirate in the bed.

To begin with there was no change but after a few minutes Hook's eyes started to move rapidly beneath their lids, he started thrashing about, head shaking from side to side and before David could even think of something to do Hook awoke with a jerk gasping loudly as his heart rate monitor sent out an alarm into the quiet room, David was on his feet and by his side in seconds.

"Hey, it's OK" he said quietly remembering to keep his voice down but Hook's eyes were wide in fear as his gaze danced around the room. The Pirate's brow furrowed as he looked around him obviously trying to see if this was reality or not.

"It's over remember. You're safe... See, Henry is here too" David pointed to his Grandson sleeping in the chair by the window and this seemed to do the trick as Hook let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Sorry" he breathed out as he closed his eyes and tried to settle his breathing.

"Don't you dare apologize, after what you've been through we all understand and it's OK" David said patting Hook on the arm gently but the Pirate still jumped a little at the contact and his monitor picked up a beat or two making David pull his hand back quickly mentally cursing himself.

David had to let Hook know that he had nothing to fear anymore "It really is over you know"

"Is it? I don't know anything anymore" Hook said opening an eye and looking at him intensely.

"I don't know what I can do to convince you but he is gone, Regina and Emma saw to that"

At the mention of Emma's name Hook looked to the empty chair by his bedside with a confused look and David knew exactly what he was thinking.

"She'll be back in a minute, she's just gone with Mary-Margaret to walk Regina and Robin out, she needed to stretch her legs I think"

Hook's gaze moved back to David but he still didn't look relaxed and David wasn't sure what he could do to change that but he was surprised when the Pirate spoke obviously trying to distract himself.

"You look awful Mate" he smirked as he closed his eyes again and shifted himself slightly trying to get comfortable but his brow furrowed again and he grit his teeth at the movement.

"I may look awful but you haven't seen yourself, you're not exactly a picture of health either" David replied with a chuckle of his own and Hook smirked again.

"I'm going for the wounded Pirate look, Emma just can't resist." he opened his eyes again and looked at David seriously "Why don't you go home and get some sleep. I will be just fine, I'll still be here in the morning... I promise"

David was just about to answer back when the door opened, he turned expecting to see Emma and Mary-Margaret but was surprised when it was Whale who came in to the room.

"How we doing in here?" Whale asked brightly striding over to the bed

"The answer to that will depend on what you are about to do to me" Hook sighed tipping his head back into his pillows to look up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, sorry but I need to check your surgical wounds. It might get a bit painful but I'll try to be as quick and gentle as I can" he gave Hook a sympathetic look before turning to David "How are you doing?"

"I'll be fine, nothing that a little sleep won't fix"

"That is true but for that to happen you actually have to sleep. Go home David" Whale gave him such a sincere look that David actually thought he was genuinely concerned.

"Alright, I get the message, I will go once Mary-Margaret gets back" he breathed out finally admitting to himself that he was not going to win.

David watched as Whale took out Hook's chart and made a few notes from readings on the various machines before pulling back the blankets to check each of his wounds in turn. The Pirate was black and blue from head to toe and his skin still held a grayish tinge but David had to swallow hard when Whale pulled back the dressing that hid the knife wound to reveal the large wound below. He looked away as images washed over him again and he put his hand out to steady himself, he did not need to keel over again, not now.

Whale worked quickly and soon David was happy to see that he was finishing but when Whale suddenly turned to him David was confused.

"Can you help for a second? I need to roll him to see the wounds on his back. We'll turn him onto his right first so I can see his shoulder then onto his left so I can see his lower back"

Now David was really confused, Hook hadn't been cut on his lower back! Whale must have been able to read his confused face as he answered his unasked question.

"It is easier to remove a kidney from the back, I won't go into details, we'll just leave it at that" the Doctor said quickly as he positioned Hook's arms to make the move easier. "We'll be as quick as we can Hook, just try to keep breathing while we do this, the natural reaction is to hold your breath against the pain but that can just make things worse so take big breaths"

Whale gave David a nod and before he knew what was really happening they had Hook turned onto his right hand side so that Whale could look at his shoulder. The Pirate's eyes were clamped shut and he was trying his best to keep breathing through his clenched jaw but he was failing badly and by the time he was lowered back down he had gone quite limp, close to passing out again from the pain he was having to endure.

"OK just the last one to do then you can rest" Whale didn't even bother looking at the Pirate's face he just moved quickly around to the other side of the bed and motioned for David to do the same.

"Can we give him a moment to catch his breath?" David asked in concern as he watched the almost unconscious Pirate on the bed.

"It won't make any difference other than making this last longer. I will give him something for the pain once we are done, he is still exhausted and sleep is the best thing for him"

So once again David found himself faced with forcing more pain on the man in front of him. Whale poked and prodded at Hook's lower back and David didn't like the way he gave a hum of disapproval as he brought the palm of his hand and lay it over the wound.

"What?" David asked quickly "What's wrong?"

"The wound is warm to the touch and slightly red, I think he may be developing an infection." he looked up at David and gave him a nod to show that he could lower Hook back onto the bed.

Whale was just covering the Pirate back up when Emma and Mary-Margaret returned to the room laughing at something one of them had said but the laughter died on Emma's lips when she took one look at Hook lying on the bed, he had broken out into a sweat and was still breathing through his gritted teeth, there was no other way to describe him, he just looked awful.

"What happened?" Emma cried out running across the room to the bedside.

"Swan?!" Hook gasped out and Emma grabbed his hand in her's as Whale injected something into the Pirate's IV line finally allowing the Pirate to relax back into his pillows with an audible groan.

"It's OK, I'm here" Emma soothed brushing the hair from his forehead as she looked to the Doctor for answers

"I think he might be developing an infection so I'm going to get him started on IV antibiotics ASAP, we need to catch this quickly" Whale didn't hang about, he just rushed from the room.

David sat down heavily, it would seem that the Pirate wasn't done causing him worry just yet but he didn't get time to ponder as Whale came bustling back into the room and straight over to Hook's side setting up the second IV line. He worked quickly hanging the bag up next to the other two, one being a saline drip with his pain meds and the other being a bag of blood that was still slowly feeding it's way back into the Pirate to counter act the effects of losing so much of his own.

"I know you all want to be here, you all want to help Hook and I understand that but right now the best thing you can do is head home. I have given him morphine which will probably have him sleeping right through to morning. There is no more that any of you can do for him tonight."

"I'm not going anywhere" Emma grit out and David could see her determination but when he looked at Whale he looked just the same way.

"I'm sorry Miss Swan but I am going to have to insist. Hook is still very ill and he will have to be monitored closely over the next 48 hours. I need space in here so that my team can work, no arguments. Do not make me get you forcefully removed. If you leave of your own accord at least you will be able to return in the morning the other way will see you banned from the whole hospital, not what any of want, now is it?"

Whale meant business and was not going to take no for an answer but David had an idea, he had no intention of allowing the Pirate to be left here by himself so if Emma couldn't stay he was going to make sure that he could.

"Emma, come on. Whale's right, Hook needs his rest" David said as he pulled himself to his feet to start gathering his things but as he stooped down to collect his jacket from another chair he again gave a fake groan and fell to his knees clutching his head on mock pain.

"DAVID!" Mary-Margaret's voice really did have him wincing as it hit his ear drums and he cringed a little at the surge of pain that hit his brain but it must have just added to the effect as seconds later Whale was down on his knees in front of him shining a light into his eyes.

"I really think you should let me admit you David, you need rest and I want to keep an eye on that head of yours" Whale looked worried but when David looked at Mary-Margaret she didn't look worried at all just confused and he had to fight hard not to smile as she seemed to suddenly understand what he was doing.

"David, please listen to Victor, stay." she pleaded with him to add to the scene

"Fine" he sighed out as Whale helped him to his feet.

"I really think you should...Oh... OK... I'll get a bed sorted out" Whale raised his eyebrows high on his head and blinked his eyes a couple of times obviously surprised by David's agreement to stay

"No need" David said quickly "I'll just use this one"

He walked quickly across to the empty bed and sat himself down with a sigh "I'm gonna need some pajamas" he quirked a lip as Whale's face fell into one of understanding.

"Very clever" he nodded his head and gave a wry smile "OK, you win BUT if you cause ANY issues you will be moved to another room, no arguments"

David raised his hands in mock surrender "Do you see me arguing?"

So that was how David found himself sharing a hospital room with a three hundred year old Pirate.

He currently lay staring at the ceiling still trying to fight off sleep wanting to be there if Hook awoke, unwilling to leave him alone if he could help it. Whale had wanted to give him a sedative about an hour ago but he had hidden it under his tongue instead of swallowing it, removing the pill once the Doctor had left the room and tucking it under the mattress but even without it he was now finding it impossible to stay awake as his fatigue finally caught up on him. He closed his eyes with a sigh and finally let himself go, too exhausted to do anything other than give in to the darkness just hoping that if the Pirate woke and needed him that he would wake too... he'd left him once before with disastrous consequences, he was not willing to do it again.

 **OK, it may have started off as a shorter chapter but I got carried away... I can't stop writing!**

 **Someone help me lol**


	15. Chapter 15

**So I never managed to give you an update last night but had a wee bit of free time this morning to give you guys a short chapter... enjoy**

 **Modo Adhuc Pugnamus, Still Fighting**

Killian awoke with a gasp and was instantly looking around himself to see where he was as his heart rate monitor beeped wildly out of control by his side. Would he ever be free of these damned dreams? They were so real and he was really struggling to separate them in his head from reality, they left him confused and disorientated for a good while once he woke, doubting his own eyes until he remembered that it was over and only reality remained.

Hook recognized the room he was in and realized by the darkness that it must be night. He was suddenly aware that he was alone, everyone must have been sent home, this was not something he was keen on at the moment but at least this way he didn't have to try and figure out if the other person was real or not, this was good... for now.

He let out a sigh of relief as he relaxed back into his pillows trying to calm his frantic heart and he pushed back his blankets a little to let some heat out. Why was it so hot in here?

His eyes fell on his front and he gulped at the dark bruises that littered his skin and the two dressings that covered the wounds both made by different blades but by the same daemon even if he did wear a different face with each attack. He was grateful for the drugs running through his veins knowing that the pain would have been unbearable by now if he were truly not here at the hospital, this couldn't be faked and for that he was eternally thankful.

He still felt like death may be a better option but he was not willing to give up just yet, David had been right, he could not let that daemon beat him but Killian knew it was going to be a tough fight, he couldn't get the damn thing out of his own head even if he knew it had been defeated, it still plagued his dreams perhaps this fight would be his toughest so far.

Needing a distraction from his own thoughts he tried to sit himself up slightly to grab the cup of water from his bedside table when his eyes fell on David lying in the bed next to him. He instantly froze, why was he there? Was it a trick? No, he knew this was reality so that couldn't be right. Had something happened? His heart started to beat more rapidly again as his mind ran away with itself, what was going on?

On one hand Killian wanted to wake David to find his answers but on the other he was ashamed to say that he was just too frightened to do it in case this wasn't real and the man next to him wasn't who he appeared to be. Killian's eyes danced around the room again trying to convince himself that this was reality, he looked at the machine next to him that was slowly pumping pain relief into him and again reminded himself that in the dream world there was no such thing available and eventually he came to the conclusion that it had to be David lying by his side but why?

Now he needed to know that David was alright, struggling with all his might he managed to pull himself forward slightly so that he was more upright, he lent over balancing himself on the side of the bed trying to get a better view but it was no use, he was simply too weak to hold himself up, his head started to throb at the effort and a wave a nausea washed over him making him gulp in a few steadying breaths before flopping back down onto the mattress.

The nausea eventually passed but he was so hot from all the effort of moving now that he couldn't focus on anything else. He managed to pull the blanket down further by lifting his left leg and kicking out but by the time he was done he had broken out into a sweat again and he lay panting heavily into the silent room. Gods, why did his skin feel so tight?

Everything was too much effort, he couldn't even muster the strength to find out what was happening with David anymore too consumed with just trying to keep taking in breaths to try and clear his spinning vision, how could the room spin when he was lying flat in his back?

He felt miserable, the nausea was back and nothing he did made anything any better and now to top it all off he was starting to feel cold but no matter how he moved he couldn't reach the blankets to pull them back up again and in the end he just lay awkwardly across the bed shivering to the point that it actually hurt, trying in vain to steady his churning gut.

He managed for a full five minutes, lying there the whole time hoping that someone would find him but true to his recent streak of luck that was not the case as his stomach lurched and he knew that he was going to be sick no matter what he did. The only thing he managed to do to help himself was roll himself slightly to one side as the first wave hit, he didn't have anything other than water to bring up but that didn't stop his gut from trying to kill him with every spasm. All his wounds flared at once the drugs not being enough to counter act the pain that this bodily function brought and Killian could do nothing more than moan in agony as another wave washed over him, he was spent, nothing more was left to come up but it was never ending as his gut clenched again sending him back into hell before he had fully escaped.

He felt someone put their hand on his shoulder and even in the depths of his misery he still flinched at the contact, not knowing who it was

"Hey, it's OK, it's only me. I'm gonna get some help, hang on" David's voice was like a soothing balm, he was alright, he was awake and he would help him.

He heard an alarm sounding and as his stomach finally settled there was a commotion when more people rushed into the room but he was too far gone to care now as he lay shivering in his own vomit soaked bedding praying to any God that would listen to simply put him out of his misery. It seemed to work too as his vision blurred and the room slid out of focus sending him back into the darkness once more, he felt the effects of the drugs that someone had just jabbed in his arm take hold but in among the chaos going on all around him he thought he heard a familiar voice calling out to him

"That's right Captain... come back to me"

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"Is he alright?" David asked urgently as he watched Whale rushing round the bed to inject yet another drug into the Pirate's arm.

"Not really, this infection is taking it's toll. I was hoping we had caught it in time but unfortunately it looks like it has taken hold. His body is simply struggling to fight with all the other issues that he has got going on." Whale sighed heavily and looked at David "It's just a waiting game now, I have sedated him and given him more morphine so he isn't in any pain right now which is one good thing but he is critical, I'm not going to lie he's got a battle on his hands"

David sat down heavily on the chair by the Pirate's side and simply watched as the nurses and Whale worked together to get the bedding changed then settle Hook back into a more comfortable position.

Ten minutes later he was left by himself with the promise that someone would be in every half hour to check on the Pirate. David looked at the clock to see that it was nearly morning, he still felt tired but knew that he was not going back to sleep.

David couldn't believe this, Hook had been doing so well, he had been joking with him a few hours before, how could things change so quickly. He knew he should really call home but he couldn't bring himself to make that call just yet but just then his cell rang somewhere off on the other side of the room and he scrambled off the chair to find it to see his wife's name on the display, of course she would know that something was wrong.

"David, is everything alright?" she asked in a harsh whisper as he lifted the cell to his ear

"No" he sighed out "It's Hook"

"Oh God, please tell me that he's... David is he...?" she couldn't seem to finish her sentence but he knew what she was thinking

"No, he's still alive. This infection is hitting him hard though, he's been listed as critical and Whale had to sedate him after he deteriorated. Mary-Margaret, I'm not sure he's going to make it, he looks like death lying on that bed" his voice gave a wobble as he realized what he was saying.

"Don't lose hope David, remember that he is a fighter, he's managed to live for more years that all of us put together and is still here" Mary-Margaret tried her best to sooth him and he literally felt a surge of love in his chest but he could feel her heartache too, she couldn't hide it from him, not anymore.

"I won't" he whispered then tried to pull himself together "Don't wake Emma, hopefully he'll improve in a few hours and we can tell her after he's turned a corner. I don't want her worrying instead of sleeping"

"Alright, I won't but if there is no good news by nine I don't think I'll have a choice" Mary-Margaret replied in a sad voice.

"I'll call by nine then. I love you."

"Love you too." then she was gone and he was once again left by himself but he didn't care he had a Pirate to watch over, that was his job right now and this time he was not going to fail.

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Henry lay in his bed listening intently to the whispered half conversation that was taking place in the room below. He understood what was happening though, Killian had taken a turn for the worse.

He looked to his left and could make out the sleeping form of his Mom in her bed and gave a sigh, he had thought that they were through the worst of all this, he thought that Killian would be getting better not getting worse, how was this even fair?

The room was still quite dark but the street lamp outside helped and Henry's eyes fell onto the red leather bound book as he pulled it out from under his pillow, he had still had it with him when he had got home last night and had tucked it away quickly before anyone could take it away from him.

As much as he hated the thing for allowing all this to happen the book still intrigued him, it still held answers to unanswered questions even if they no longer needed the answers to help Killian they still niggled at Henry's inquisitive mind.

He sat himself up and reached for his laptop turning it on quickly then finding a good website for what he needed to do, he wanted to know what was written in the hidden message. He found a site that translated Latin to English, grabbed hold of a note book and finally picked up the leather bound volume to opened it up, he started on the inside cover of the front page figuring that it was the most logical place to begin, this may take him a while, the writing was tiny and there was a LOT of it but it would keep his mind busy, he needed something else to think about other than Killian lying in that bed fighting for his life.

He took one last look at his Mom then got to work, if nothing else he could show Belle what he had translated later, she would hopefully be impressed by the effort he had put in, maybe even give him something else to research. With a heart full of hope and a head full of curiosity Henry got to work, hoping that he could get a good bit done before his Mom woke up, he wasn't sure she would be happy that he still had the book never mind the fact that it was under his pillow while he slept but right now he didn't care as he quickly typed out the first few words on his keyboard and hit the translate button, this was going to be fun.


	16. Chapter 16

***Quickly uploads this update while most of you are sleeping, enjoy when you wake up my pretties ***

Killian was so confused, what was going on? Why was he back here? He opened his eyes further trying to focus his fuzzy mind. He could make out the circle of blue sky high above him but he knew that he had left here, he had been in hospital, hadn't he?

He tried to move but everything hurt too much so he just slumped back down onto the sand panting heavily but he knew that this couldn't be right, he could still feel the effects of the drugs in his heavy limbs so he had to be in his bed, this must be a dream, right?

"I can see you struggling to comprehend what is going on so let me clear things up a bit for you" the voice of his nightmares spoke out, his drug addled brain tried to lurch into focus but the voice still sounded echoey and distorted, this wasn't real. He clamped his eyes shut then blinked widely trying to get back to reality as he managed to slur a reply against the voice in his head.

"You are not real, you are a dream" he gave a slight smirk knowing that he was safe, Thanatos was gone, Swan had seen to that.

"I can assure you that I am most definitely real but I suppose you are right, you see this is a dream but here is the really funny part, you thought that you were free of me, you thought you had defeated me but you and your friends are fools, you will never be free of me again, I am immortal. Your lovely Swan and that interfering witch may have destroyed my corporeal form, a fact that I am quite annoyed about by the way but they cannot, no matter how hard they try destroy my dream form. I thought that I had lost you, thought that I would have to find another delicious soul to feast upon but imagine my joy when you rejoined the dreamland JUST before the Evil Queen blasted my poor old body from existence. You saved me Captain, without a body and without a mind to hide in I would have been left weakened, I would have had to take time to build my strength again possibly never being able to do this again but you were my saving grace, you let me back in and now we are one. I can use you, hide in here where no one will find me..."

"No no no... this can't be real" Killian couldn't believe it, this could not be happening. He tried to move again but he just couldn't do it, his limbs felt like lead and he had no co-ordination to get his body to do what he wanted.

"Things are slightly different now though, I can't keep you here, I have no control over your consciousness anymore so all you have to do is wake up if you want to escape, go ahead Captain, give it a go"

The daemon laughed as he finally stepped into Killian's eye line, he looked totally different though and Killian struggled to comprehend what he was seeing, he sounded the same and the look in his eye was recognizable but he was no longer an old man. Standing before him now was young man with very fair skin, brown shaggy hair and most noticeably he had white feathered wings, he gave Killian a cheeky grin then continued.

"You and your friends have been calling me Thanatos all this time, you assumed that I was the same beast that escaped that book but you were all wrong, all their research is useless against me" he gave a hearty laugh "That beast in that book was my Uncle who was very annoyed at me for reasons that I won't go into right now, he nearly had me back at that wishing well too, nearly took me back but I have you to thank for dealing with him so nicely for me, it would seem that you have a habit of saving me."

What? This wasn't Thanatos? What the hell was going on? Killian shook his head trying to focus his mind but it didn't work, he was so confused, this made no sense.

"I can see you still don't understand so let me introduce myself to you now." The daemon stepped forward and stuck out his hand which even if Killian could have moved he wouldn't have taken but the beast just raised a brow and shrugged as he carried on.

"I am Morpheus..." he paused to see Killian's reaction but obviously realized that he still had no clue who that was as he gave a dramatic sigh.

"I can see you are still ignorant as to who I am, what do they teach people these days?" He stood quickly and puffed out his chest in importance and started to strut up and down as he continued.

"I am not a daemon, I am a God... the God of dreams to be precise but I was bound by my Uncle a long time ago unable to roam free as I always had. That was my existence for the longest time, I thought it would never change all until I was freed again and you saved me. I must say that you were a most surprising find, not many of you mortals have lived such a long and gloriously wretched life as you have and to think you nearly escaped me but it would seem that fate seemed to step in."

Killian was beyond confused now as his brain struggled to understand, he needed to wake up so badly, she watched as the God before him stopped pacing and turned back to face him with a wry smile on his face.

"You know the funny thing here?" He giggled then continued "Someone has a sense of humor somewhere I am sure, the irony is not lost on me. You see the thing that is keeping you here with me, the drug that the very kind Doctor keeps giving to you to help you rest is called "Morphine" and guess who it named after?" Morpheus laughed loudly making Killian's head pulse as the sound echoed around him but the God didn't stop.

"It is so simple for me now, all I have to do is keep you in enough pain and you will have no escape. That Doctor will just keep giving you more of my name sake thinking that he is helping you but all he will actually be doing is ensuring that you stay here with me. There is no way back for you now and believe me when I say that by the time I am finished with you your mind will be so broken and frail that you will no longer be a problem and I will be strong enough to take over, I will finally have a new body to inhabit... I always wondered what it would be like to sail the open seas, this could be fun. That lady of yours will make the deal just a little bit sweeter as I slowly turn on her, sneak into her mind and help myself to her very damaged soul, it almost rivals yours you know?"

Killian's heart was thumping in his chest now, this couldn't be happening, this couldn't be real but when the young man bent down and took hold of his right foot yanking it into the air where Killian could easily see what he was doing he finally accepted that all of this was true as the God took hold of one of his broken toes and yanked it hard causing Killian's vision to white out as he screamed out into the cave with his back arching up from the ground. He tried to pull his foot away but Morpheus held it tightly and Killian ended up curling onto his side screaming into the sand again as the God gave another tug to his already damaged foot.

"You have plenty of sore bits that I can use against you, can't have you showing new bruises now can we? No no no, that wouldn't do at all, no one can know that I am here but don't worry Captain, this shouldn't take much longer then you'll just be a spectator in your own body"

Morpheus dropped Killian's leg and another howl left his mouth but already he had an idea, he had to let the others know that he was still in danger, they were his only hope now. He lay panting into the sand for a few minutes but eventually he managed to pull himself back over to look up at the sky high above him, he could hear Morpheus humming happily to himself somewhere off to his left as Killian finally looked around him and found what he was looking for a few feet away. Inch by inch he managed to shift himself slowly across the sand so that the God never noticed his movement until his fingers finally fell on the rock that he had been aiming for.

He lay panting into the cool air from the effort but he knew he had to make his move now before Morpheus realized what he was doing so he took one last look into the darkness to see where the God was, he was still on the other side of the cave too far away to get there quickly.

Killian lifted the rock in a flash and smashed it into his own face with a grunt, his whole body protested the move but it was done, he could feel the swelling already forming right where everyone would see it.

"What have you done? You shouldn't have done that" Morpheus yelled out as he stormed over to where Killian lay

The god sounded livid and seconds later Killian screamed out in agony again as he felt a fist thumping into his damaged ribs leaving him panting out breaths against another wave a nausea but he wasn't left to his misery this time, Morpheus was still by his side and when Killian finally managed to peel his eyelids open again he was no longer in the cave, he was sitting at the base of the main mast upon the deck of the Jolly Roger with the God staring him right in the eye

"Time for a change of scenery I think, you have seen many horrors here Captain, I can practically feel the sorrow in the air... you still miss her even though you have moved on with another but I think it's time we remember your first love, oh and we mustn't forget your poor dear dead Brother..."

Killian tried to move but found that his arms were tied behind his back and he couldn't help the groan of despair that left him when he realized that he was immobile. He let his eyes close and his head tipped forward, his mind raced in his head as he tried to think of something, anything to help himself. He was not giving up, he would not be beaten. He just hoped that the others got his message, he was more determined than ever to defeat this beast, he really did have something to fight for now, Morpheus was NOT going to get his hands on Swan not while Killian still had breath in his body but his thoughts flew from his mind when he suddenly felt fingers slowly pushing into the wound on his lower back ripping a scream from his mouth.

The torture went on for an eternity as Morpheus used all his wounds and bruises against him but that was not the worst part, the God kept changing his form wearing a different face with each attack and in the end Killian was left drooling down his own front as tears slid down his cheeks, too exhausted to do anything other than moan out a plea for help.

"Pl'se... no m're... Still... h're... n't... g'ne... h'lp...me... pl'se"

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As it turned out Hook didn't improve... if anything he got worse as the fever kept a tight hold.

David still sat by the Pirate's bedside and he was fully aware that it was nearly nine, he'd have to make that call, the one call he didn't want to make. He looked at Hook's sweaty face and wished with all his heart that things could be different, the Pirate had not moved a muscle in hours not since David had found him writhing around the bed in agony a few hours before and Whale had sedated him. David knew it was the best thing for him, his best chance to beat this infection that was ravaging his already delicate body but somehow seeing him lying so still was just one step too much for David bringing back memories of their time in that damned cave.

He sighed and stood up to grab his cell that he had placed on Hook's bedside table after he had spoken to Mary-Margaret earlier but just as he was reaching for it he glanced across at the Pirate freezing half way to his destination. Was that a fresh bruise on the Man's face?

Instantly David's heart was thumping in his chest as he jumped forward and tipped Hook's head slightly to see a distinct red mark with purple tinges running along his right cheekbone. How had that happened? Without thinking he hit the call button, he wanted Hook checked over now.

Seconds later a very tired looking Whale came into the room.

"What's up?" he asked urgently as he hurried over.

"He's got a fresh bruise on his face, I want him checked from head to toe" David replied quickly pointing to Hook's face

"What? David, he probably hit himself earlier..." Whale sighed but trailed off at David's determined look so he brought out his small flashlight to examine Hook's face anyway.

"I just want to be sure" David knew he was being stupid, Whale was probably right but a small niggling doubt remained just waiting to be quashed.

David watched as Whale worked and after a few minutes he stepped back pulling the Pirate's blankets back up and declared.

"He's fine... well he's not fine but you know what I mean." he turned to face David and gave another long sigh "Did you actually get any sleep last night? You look like hell. I want you to get back in that bed and I am going to get you another sleeping pill, no arguments or I move you to the ward"

David didn't argue, he just threw Whale a dirty look "Fine but I need to call Mary-Margaret first, I told her I'd update her on Hook's condition"

"Be quick, I will be back in a minute with your pill and this time I think I will stay until I am sure you've actually swallowed it" Whale lifted a knowing eyebrow then walked towards the door.

Damn it... He had no way out of it this time. He looked back at Hook on the bed, the worry just wouldn't leave him but as if to answer his prayers the Pirate stirred opening his eyes a tiny bit, his brow furrowed for a split second then he was gone again but it was enough for David.

He sat heavily on the edge of his own bed, he couldn't deny the relief he was feeling... would he ever be able to get over his fear of another attack? The damned daemon was gone, he knew that but the worry remained, his eyes fell back on the bruise on Hook's face and his stomach flipped again.

"David get a grip, you are being stupid." he chastised himself and finally lifted the cell up to make his call but as the call connected he found his eyes drawn back to Hook's face, his mind just wouldn't let go and his stomach gave another lurch of doubt.

He spoke to Mary-Margaret explaining what was going on but all the time his eyes never left Hook who seemed to be in a bit of distress again, these dreams were getting to be torture and not just for the Pirate. Hook moaned loudly and his arm came up to clutch at his stomach as he gave a few gulping breaths.

David quickly ended his call with his wife knowing that she would be there soon anyway, he tossed his cell onto his bed and made his way back over to the Pirate's side.

"Hook" He whispered but the Pirate didn't seem to be fully awake as he again gave another moan still clutching at his stomach, was he going to be sick again?

David's eyes moved to the heart rate monitor that was beeping incessantly on the other side of the bed to see that Hook's temperature had risen again, it now sat at 104. He let out a long breath, he wanted to sooth the man who seemed to be in pain again but at the same time he didn't want to put his hands on him knowing that the Pirate didn't like it and who could blame him after what he had been through.

Whale came back into the room and his brow furrowed as he looked at Hook in concern.

"That's strange, the dose I gave him should have had him pain free for a few more hours yet" he fiddled with a few things then looked back at Hook as the Pirate finally seemed to settle into his bedding. "Some people have a higher resistance to the morphine than others, I'll need to keep an eye on that. Anyway Sheriff I have your pill, come on back to bed"

David knew there was no escape this time but if he was honest he would be quite happy to finally get some sleep. Mary-Margaret and Emma would be here soon to watch over Hook and that would mean that he could take the night shift again once they left. So he hopped up onto his bed, took the pill from the Doctor and palmed it down his throat before lying down.

"Will he be OK?" he asked Whale in a small voice as the Doctor was walking back to Hook's bedside

"I wish I knew" Whale said with a heavy sigh "I was hoping that his fever would have broken by now but if anything it just seems to be getting worse."

David watched as Whale moved around the bed checking all Hook's wounds and again he gave another hum of disapproval when he rolled the Pirate over to reveal the very red looking wound on his lower back.

"There's fresh bruising and swelling here too, I think we may need to take him back to surgery and have a look at what's going on inside" Whale said as he lowered Hook back down onto the bed "I'm going to go and arrange that now, hopefully there will be a slot in theater this morning, I don't think that this can wait"

David's mind was racing again, Hook had fresh bruising on his face and his back, was he reading into this too much? Maybe he was but what if he wasn't? David now regretted taking the sleeping pill as he felt the first effects taking control and he gave a huge yawn. He grabbed his cell intending to send a text to Emma telling her of his worries but as he looked back at Hook sleeping peacefully in the bed next to him he suddenly doubted himself again. Did he really want to worry Emma for no reason? The Daemon was gone... the danger had passed.

He let his hand fall onto the bedding as his eyes finally slid shut, hopefully when he woke up there would be better news, Whale would sort the Pirate out and in a few days they'd all be sitting at home, maybe he could even light the fire in the garden and they could have those marshmallows, oh, what about s'mores?. Yeah, that sounded like a plan, everything was going to be just fine, he was just tired, too strung out from all that had happened to relax and forget his troubles, there was no more danger, not from the daemon anyway, the only danger that the Pirate faced now were ones that David couldn't help with.

With that he gave one last sigh turning onto his side and pulling his pillows up to snuggle down into them... finally he let go and let sleep take him but as he entered the dream world he wished he hadn't as a voice in his head sent his dreams down the route of nightmares.

"Pl'se... no m're... Still... h're... n't... g'ne... h'lp...me... pl'se"


	17. Chapter 17

**OK so today you get two updates... I had a bit of free time and I'm not sure that will happen again this side of Christmas so enjoy it while you can.**

 **Poor Hook is still in all kinds of hell, will David figure things out?**

 **Will Killian be able to get another message back to his friends?**

 **Who knows...**

 **Vetus Manes, Old Ghosts**

Emma just wanted to get to the hospital, she needed to be by Hook's side, what was taking Henry so long?

"Kid, come on. We need to get going, what are you doing up here?" she ground to a halt at the top of the stairs when she saw Henry jam something under his pillow, what was he trying to hide from her?

"Henry?" she tilted her head in question deciding to let him explain what was going on instead of guessing.

The kid sighed heavily and pulled the thing back out where she could see it, she was surprised to see that it was that damned book.

"Henry! What are you still doing with that thing?" Emma strode over Henry's bedside but the look on his face had her stopping herself before she grabbed the book and tossed it out the nearest window.

"I need to know Mom... this thing with Grandpa and Killian may be over but this book still holds answers to questions that I need to know and you never know it might hold something that might be helpful in the future."

She looked at her Son, really looked at him and she could see that he needed to feel useful and this was just his way of dealing with all of this craziness, he needed to feel like he was helping and his way was books. She sighed and sat down next to him on the bed.

"You don't need to hide things from me Henry, I would have understood and it's OK you can work on this if you want, you don't have to come with me I can drop you with Belle if you want."

"What? Are you crazy? Of course I'm coming with you but that's the great thing about a laptop, you can take it anywhere" Henry grinned widely as he jumped up and grabbed his bag, he threw a few bits and pieces in before turning back to her and slinging the bag onto his back "Ready whenever you are"

Half an hour later Emma was standing next to her Pirate in awe... he looked like crap.

"What the hell happened? He was fine!" she looked up at Whale needing him to answer

"The infection is not letting up, we are here to take him back to theater. I need to see what is going on inside him. I've got him booked in for a full MRI too just to check we haven't missed anything." Whale spoke as he worked making sure that all that needed to go with Hook was on the bed then they were moving.

"How long will you be gone?" she asked in a small voice as Whale pushed her Pirate out the door.

"I'll be as quick as I can Miss Swan but I am afraid that I have no idea how long that will be, I'm sorry" he gave her a sad smile and then he was gone too and she was left standing by the empty space where Hook's bed had been with Henry and her Mom by her side.

"Come on Emma, sit down before you fall over" her Mom spoke as she guided her to the chair.

Emma sat heavily, she couldn't quite believe that she had literally only got to see Hook for a few seconds before he had been pushed out the door. What had happened through the night that had made them need to move so quickly? She turned her head to look at her Dad sleeping in his bed, she couldn't even get her answers there.

"Need a distraction" Henry's voice burst through her bubble of thought and she looked to her side to see him smiling at her as he lifted the book slightly and gave it a wiggle.

She smirked at him, she could do that, let him be her distraction and she could help be his and hopefully Hook would be back before lunch.

"Sure Kid, let's get set up. What do you need me to do"

Henry grinned widely as he pulled out his laptop and set it up on the table that had been over Hook's bed dropping it down onto it's lowest setting so that they could easily lean on it.

"You spell out the words and I'll type them in and note them down. It takes an absolute age and you're gonna need this" he fished a magnifying glass out of his bag and handed it over.

She opened the book and realized that he was not kidding but at least this would keep her mind busy, she looked over her shoulder to see her Mom sitting by her Dad's side. She had his hand gripped in hers but she frowning deeply.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked

"He's having a bad dream, hang on I'm going to try something" her Mom replied then clamped her eyes shut and concentrated hard before opening them again and smiling "There, now he has something else to dream about"

"I'm not even gonna ask" Emma said with a chuckle as she turned back to Henry, she had a book cover to translate.

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David woke with a grimace, his neck was still painful from where that beast had grabbed him and now it had seized up on him, he'd obviously lay in the same position for too long.

"David?"

His eyes popped open at Mary-Margaret's voice, she was here, he needed to see her. She took his hand up in hers and gave it a loving squeeze as he squinted up into the brightness trying to make out her features.

"You're here" he breathed out as he let his eyes slide shut again.

"Of course I'm here, I said I would be, didn't I?"

He hummed in reply but then he had a sudden thought about the Pirate and his eyes sprang open again as he turned his head to the side only to see the empty space where his bed should be. Heart thumping in his chest he turned back quickly to his wife as he struggled up to his elbows.

"Where is he?" he practically yelled

"Hey, it's OK. He's with Whale. Come on, lie back down you still need to rest" Mary-Margaret soothed

"I'm fine" he said as he fell back onto his pillows, it was far from the truth but he couldn't relax now, not until Hook was back in the room, his eyes wandered around the room and he realized that there was only the two of them there "Where's Emma?"

"She has gone to Granny's with Henry, it's nearly dinner time, you've been sleeping for hours" she squeezed his hand again and gave him a sweet smile.

"How long has he been gone?" there was no need for clarification, she knew who he was talking about.

"A while" she skirted around the topic

"How long Mary-Margaret?" he tugged her hand, he needed the truth

"Nearly six hours" she muttered "It doesn't mean anything David" she added quickly as he threw back his covers and hauled himself to his feet.

"The hell it doesn't, I need to know what's going on" he started walking towards the door but he didn't get very far as a nurse suddenly backed into the room pulling the Pirate in question back into the room.

"Where are you going?" Whale asked as he came in pushing the other end of the bed.

"I was... just... I wanted to know what was going on" he muttered "How is he doing?"

David's eyes fell on the bed as it was re-positioned into the space and the nurses started reconnecting him to all the machinery.

"He's hanging in there" Whale answered cryptically

"What does that even mean?" David threw back

"Exactly what it sounds like." Whale said turning to face him, the doctor looked exhausted but David needed answers "Look, just give me a minute, I need to make sure that he's settled then I will come and explain everything, please just go back to bed and I'll be over soon"

David didn't have the heart to argue with the man, he had obviously been awake for hours so he just went back to his own bed and sat himself down to watch. Hook was still very pale except for the two bright red patches on his cheeks and as he was reconnected to the heart rate monitor David looked up to see that his temperature still sat at 104.

After a few minutes the Doctor seemed to be satisfied as he settled Hook's blankets over his hips then stepped back. He turned around and headed over to David's bed and practically threw himself into the chair to lean his head on the back stretching his legs out in front of him.

"Right... so as you can see he still has a fever but I am hopeful that it won't be long until his temperature starts coming down. He had quite a bad infection in that wound on his lower back, I managed to remove it all and I have flushed out the wound so fingers crossed that the antibiotics will get a chance to kick in now"

Whale let out another sigh as he sat himself up and rolled his shoulders but David could tell that there was more.

"And?" David asked expectantly

"And... the MRI showed a slight tear in his diaphragm it was probably nicked by the blade that we removed. I'm not sure how we missed it the last time but they can be tricky to spot so I'm not totally surprised. Now that this has been repaired he should be a lot more comfortable, a torn diaphragm can be very painful, it's probably the reason that the morphine didn't seem to be working very well"

David looked back at Hook lying in the bed, he definitely looked more relaxed. Was that really what had been causing all his issues? He still wasn't sure.

Whale pulled himself to his feet "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to crawl off somewhere and find a bed to lie down in myself, I was supposed to knock off hours ago"

"Oh Victor... I'm so sorry, we shouldn't have kept you" Mary-Margaret gushed out

"It's OK, I know you are all just worried about him and believe me, I am glad that I trusted my gut, I knew there was something wrong. God knows what would have happened if I had left it until I came back on shift" he clapped his hand on David's shoulder as he walked past "See you in a few hours for the night shift"

OK so David's plan was a bit more transparent than he had realized it was but he just smirked at the Doctor as he trailed his tired body to the door.

"Thanks Doc" he called out eventually acknowledging the man's help

David wasn't even sure that Whale had heard him as he stepped out the door without stopping but David's thanks had been genuine, the Doctor wasn't all bad.

"David, he still looks awful" Mary-Margaret gasped out as she stepped up to Hook's bedside and brushed his hair from his forehead with her fingers.

David slid off the bed and joined her pulling her into a hug as they stood watching over the Pirate as he slept.

"I hope he improves soon, I don't want Emma worrying more than she needs to" she added

"He better, I'm not sure how many more nights I'll be able to convince Whale to let me stay" David hugged his wife a little tighter swaying with her slightly as he looked at Hook's face but he froze his movements narrowing his eyes and really looking at the Pirate.

"What?" Mary-Margaret asked quickly pulling herself back to look at David's face in worry.

David stepped out of her arms and up to the bedside, he bent over and looked carefully at the Pirate's face to see that he was right, what the hell was going on?

"Mary-Margaret, he's crying!"

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The whistling was getting annoying now.

Killian managed to open his eyes to see that he was still on the Jolly but he was no longer tied to the mast, he was lying in his own bunk staring out into the room as Morpheus sat at the table with his feet up. Except the face he wore now was not the young winged God's, this face belonged to Liam. Killian closed his eyes again hoping that he had been unnoticed but he wasn't that lucky, of course not!

"I know that you are awake. I can feel you. Funny really, I didn't know that you could sleep in a dream, did you? Must be something to do with what the Doctors were doing to you. No matter you are back now... Brother"

"You are not my Brother" Killian grit out

"True but he had such a handsome face I just couldn't resist" Morpheus laughed

Killian managed to roll himself over onto his back and gave a hiss as his body pulsed in protest.

"Now now Brother, watch what you are doing to yourself. I need that body remain as it is, if I see you so much as scratch your nose without my permission I will tie you back up are we clear?" He paced over to the bed and Killian couldn't help it as he flinched when Morpheus lent over him and pulled back his blanket. "Relax, I am just making sure you have not done anything to yourself which I would need to punish you for. I think that we can have a little rest from our games for a while, I thought we could chat, you know have a catch up"

"Nothing you have to say interests me" Killian sighed, he was tired of this already, he just wanted to go back to sleep.

"Really? And here was me thinking we could chat about old times... like the time we visited Neverland, you remember that don't you Brother?"

Killian's heart thumped in his chest, he knew this wasn't real but images of Liam's anguished face as he realized his mistake and the dream shade had taken hold of him on top of Dead Man's Peak flooded his mind.

"Go away" Killian clamped his eyes shut against the memory but fake Liam carried on.

"I should have listened to you Brother, you were right and I was wrong but alas I was too stubborn, too pig headed to listen to my little Brother." he stepped back and walked around the table to stand on the very spot where Liam had died.

"I can feel him you know, I can feel his soul here on these boards" he bent down and rubbed his hand across the floor as he looked back at Killian "I'd like to tell you that it was a peaceful death but you know that's not true, you saw the pain in my eyes, you saw the agony on my face as I stared up at you and took my final breath right here while lying in your arms, it was painful Killian, I was in agony and you did nothing to help me"

Killian shook his head against the memory, he couldn't let Morpheus in, couldn't let this affect him but it was so hard when "Liam" stood right in front of him.

"You are not him" he growled

"I know that, don't be ridiculous. We both know that BUT I do know him. He loved you, you know? He would have done anything to keep you safe. All he ever wanted for you was for you to be safe, for you to be happy. He is disappointed in you Killian, he hates the man that you became and in his name too. You used his name to become a Pirate, the one thing he hated above everything else and it kills him, no pun intended. He is a haunted soul your Brother, he does not rest easy old Liam Jones, no he still wanders this place unable to let go knowing that he failed you, that you were anything but safe, anything but happy."

"Nooooo" Killian sobbed "It's not true"

"But you know it is Killian. How many times have you felt him? How many times have you seen him out of the corner of your eye while standing at the helm?"

Killian couldn't speak, he had nothing to say, this was all true. He had felt Liam so many times over the years that he had even on occasion spoken to him, told him his worries, spoke to him of his plans and of his regrets. Morpheus was right, Liam would be so ashamed of him for what he had become and now it was too much as another sob left his throat.

"Leave me alone" Killian whispered

"But where would be the fun in that?"

Liam's voice was gone and another sob left Killian, he couldn't take it anymore, this was almost worse than the physical pain but Killian still couldn't help opening his eyes to see the face above him.

"Did you miss me Baby?"

He closed his eyes against the tears that flowed down his face but she wouldn't leave him be and as he felt her hand slide onto the side of his face he couldn't help it, he knew that she wasn't real but he needed the comfort, it had been so long. She sat herself on the edge of the bed and pulled him into her arms, he couldn't fight it, he just let her as she started to hum a lullaby to him that he hadn't heard in the longest time, her fingers trailed up and down the side of his face as he lay in her embrace, the smell was so familiar and so comforting that he let his eyes fall closed. A sigh escaped him and his chest hitched against another sob as she held him again after all these years, he embraced the love that he had missed through most of his life and she whispered in his ear.

"It's OK Killy, Mummy is here, sleep Baby, sleep"


	18. Chapter 18

**So this whole not giving you updates is failing miserably hahaha.**

 **Here you go, enjoy them while they are still coming lol**

 **Confidas Viscera, Trust Your Gut**

David narrowed his eyes further to watch the Pirate in the other bed, Emma sat by Hook's side now and she was speaking quietly to him, telling him about anything and everything but as David sat perched on his own bed slowly eating the dinner that Emma had brought back from Granny's he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was still not right.

"Speak to me" Mary-Margaret said quietly drawing his attention back to her "I can tell you are worried about something, what's going on?"

David sighed and put down his food not really hungry anymore, he shifted around so he was facing Snow fully, he wanted to look her straight in the eye so she knew he was being serious.

"I know this is going to sound crazy but I just can't shake the feeling that something is still not right, something is wrong I can just feel it" he whispered so Emma wouldn't hear.

"Like what?" she asked putting her own food aside to take hold of his hands.

"I don't know, that's the frustrating part. I just wish he would wake up so I could talk to him but Whale's got him so pumped full of drugs that he's not likely to wake this side of Christmas" he sighed heavily, frustrated by this whole thing.

"He's getting better with every hour that passes, his temperature has started to come down so maybe Whale will be happy to reduce his medication tomorrow then you can ask Hook anything you want"

"Maybe... but what if that's too long? I just wish I knew that everything was alright. Mary-Margaret he was crying and yes I know the nurse said it was just his eyes watering after the anesthetic but I don't buy it, those were tears, I've shed enough of them over the last few days to know what I saw"

"David in my experience if you think that something is wrong you're usually right. So the question is what are you going to do about it?"

A surge of love for his wife surged through him, she always believed in him no matter what. David looked quickly back over at the bed containing the Pirate, he needed to talk to Hook, find out for sure one way or another if he was right or wrong and he knew just how to do that but Emma would never agree.

"I need you distract Emma, please don't ask me why, just trust me" he looked at Snow with pleading eyes.

"Always" she simply replied and hopped off the bed.

David watched as his wife worked her magic and a few minutes later both she and his daughter walked over to where Henry still worked on the book on the other side of the room then David he made his move. He casually slid off the bed and sauntered over to the Pirate's bedside but instead of coming up to his right hand side as usual David made a point of walking around the bed pretending to look out the window first, he stopped there for a minute and gave a stretch and a yawn as he glanced across at Emma who just gave him a warm smile then went back to talking to Henry.

David turned and headed back to the bed, he stopped by the heart rate monitor with his target right by his side, he gave Emma one last glance before quickly sliding the morphine pump down to near zero then stepping back from the bed to walk over to join the others.

His heart was thumping in his chest, had he done the right thing? If he was wrong the Pirate was going to be in agony for no good reason but if he was right... well he didn't know what it would prove, he had no idea what the issue was or even if there was one but he needed to find out.

"You OK?" Emma looked at him quizzically

"Yeah I'm good just got a bit of a sore neck" he said bringing his hand up to rub over his shoulder as he rolled his head back and forth a couple of times before turning to Henry quickly to change the subject "Finding anything useful Kid?"

"It's hard to tell" Henry replied scrunching his face up as he tried to read the really small writing "It's weird, it seems to be the story of how Thanatos became bound to this book but it's a different story to the one written on the pages inside. But I think I've figured out why he went to the wishing well to drink the water, the truth was revealed for us to see in this print, it says here that only a truth spell would reveal the hidden script so I guess the water from the well did the trick. It then goes on to say that Thanatos was not the beast of legend, he was "Misrepresented" whatever that means and it also talks of a seal that held a soul but how was that possible when we know it was in the book?"

"Yeah well, I don't care what it says, he was still a beast, he did this so that's all I need to know" Emma grit out but David was intrigued to know what else the script said.

"Need an assistant?" he asked Henry hoping that the Kid would agree and thankfully he did.

"Awesome Grandpa. Belle is going to be here soon with Neal and I wanted to get as much done as possible before she got here, she doesn't know I'm doing this" He grinned widely as he shoved the book across the table.

"Let's get started then Kid" David grinned back, this was just the distraction he needed while the morphine filtered from Hook's bloodstream.

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Killian was both mentally and physically exhausted, he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take but he kept the mantra in his head going, he needed to beat this.

It's not real, I need to get back, it's not real, I need to get back

Morpheus had left him a while ago but he just lay in the same spot unable to process what had happened, he could still smell her scent and it was almost too much for him to bear as another lump formed in his throat, why did it have to be her? She was gone and nothing he could do or say could ever bring her back, he knew that, had known it for centuries but still it hurt to have had her so close but to know that it wasn't her at the same time.

Eventually he knew he had to try and pull himself together, he couldn't let Morpheus win if he was to save Emma from the God's plan so he grit his teeth and rolled himself over onto his back to stare up at the cabin roof. He brought his hand up to wipe at his face and was surprised to find that his arm didn't feel quite as heavy as it had before. His heart picked up a beat as he realized that the drugs that had been running through his veins seemed to have been reduced, perhaps he could wake himself up.

Instantly he was struggling to sit himself up but without the drugs everything hurt a lot more so it was much more difficult than he needed it to be. Finally he sat on the edge of his bunk but he suddenly realized that he had no idea how to do what he needed to do, how do you wake yourself up from a drug induced sleep? He shook his head hard trying to shake his fuzzy brain into doing something but when he opened his eyes he was still sitting in his cabin.

"Damn it" he grit out but in the next second he stilled listening hard, had he just hear Emma's voice?

His heart was now hammering against his ribs as he heard her voice again, it was far off but definitely there. He breathed out a long breath, she was there with him at the hospital, she was by his side and that was all he needed to know. He gave a tired grin and allowed himself to fall back down onto the mattress with a grunt as his body protested the move... all he needed to do was wait and she would be by his side for real.

He closed his eyes and gave a sigh but just as he was beginning to relax his bubble burst.

"I guess I need to move things along a bit don't I? I don't want you giving the game away before I've got a taste of the main course"

Killian's eyes flew open again but the scene had changed again, he was back on the deck of his beloved ship staring up at the sky high above him.

"Let's see what we can do to silence that tongue of yours shall we?" Black Bread grinned his most sinister smile as he stooped down over him with his short sword drawn.

"Nooooooooooo" Killian tried to get away scrambling backwards but Black Beard was too quick as he grabbed him by the throat stopping him in his tracks as he squeezed his airway shut.

"I guess there's no hiding the fact from your friends that you are still being tortured in the dream world but I can't have you telling everyone that it's me that is doing the torturing. You may get some respite but in your state you will sooner or later fall asleep again and of course I will be right here waiting for you upon your return. I think we'll have some fun first though, I always wanted to see if it was possible to split a tongue down the middle." Black Beard laughed heartily as Killian's eyes went wide in horror as the man's hand moved from his throat to grip his jaw tightly.

Adrenaline surged Killian's system and for a split second he thought he saw the hospital room but it didn't last, he was still staring up at Blackbeard's snarling face as his nemesis squeezed his jaw hard forcing his mouth open.

Killian's mind was screaming at him... he needed to wake up but deep down inside he knew that it was not going to happen, not in time to save him. He struggled wildly, his hand reaching out blindly to grab anything that would be of help. He felt the rough surface of one of the wooden deck scrubbing buckets and moved on instinct, his mind overruling his broken body as he brought the bucket up and slammed it into Blackbeard's head with a resounding clunk.

He was free, Blackbeard crumpled to the deck in front of him and Killian was moving, he had one destination in mind. It was a risky strategy but he was past the point of caring, this would either work or it wouldn't but no matter the outcome the result would be the same, he would finally be free from this hell. With one last glace over his shoulder he could see Blackbeard struggling to get to his feet but he didn't care, not anymore. He hauled himself up onto the guard rail slumping across it on his stomach then without pausing he tipped himself over the side of the ship to fall head first into the water below. The water was freezing and his body instantly broke out in goose bumps as he sunk deeper but he didn't fight to get to the surface, he knew what he had to do, he gave one last silent prayer that his friends would save him then opened his mouth and let the sea water flood in.

 **ONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIME**

David tried not to smile to himself as Emma gave a gasp of surprise.

"I think he's waking up. Hook, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes" she cooed at his side but when David looked over the Pirate had stilled again.

He smiled to himself as he looked back at the laptop screen that he was at, Henry had fallen asleep not long after Belle had arrived and David had carried on with her help but he had become quite disillusioned by the whole thing. The book seemed to be one giant riddle with no answers, nothing made any sense and it certainly didn't sound like the Thanatos that David had met in that cave

"Not much left now" Belle said with a smile and she was right, there was literally one paragraph left.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what use any of this is going to be though. There's nothing here about Thanatos attacking people in the dream world and according to this he was bound to a poppy seal made of pottery not the actual book and we know that's not true" He said sitting back and rubbing his neck again but when he looked at Belle she looked confused.

"What did you say? He was bound to what?" she asked

"A poppy seal made of pottery, that's if we've translated this correctly" he replied

"That's what I thought you said" Belle stood up quickly and grabbed her coat "I need to go and check something out, I'll be back as soon as I can."

David stood too and stepped in close to Belle to whisper to her not wanting to draw attention to them

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure but keep an eye on Killian, I'm not so sure this is as over as we thought it was" Belle answered then marched out the door quickly not stopping to look back.

Mary-Margaret looked up as Belle left the room, a confused frown formed on her face as she turned to look at David but he just shook his head at her to try and let her know that he didn't know what was going on either and she went back to talking to Emma.

Having nothing else to do he dropped back into the chair and went back to the book more determined than ever to finish translating the passage.

David worked furiously and twenty minutes later he sat back to read the whole thing, a lot of it still made no sense. One word had kept coming up time and time again but it had no translation, he had tried a couple of times but the translator just left it as it read so he had just written it on the edge of the page at the time planning to go back to it later. He turned the note book round now and stared at it again but just then the door pushed open and Whale walked back into the room, the Doctor glanced at David as he walked past and headed over to the bed. David bit his lip slightly hoping that Whale would not notice that he had fiddled with the morphine pump but within seconds he was busted.

"Who did this?" Whale asked looking straight at Emma but right at that moment the Pirate gave a long moan and Emma was on her feet.

"Hook, come on wake up for me" she said with a voice full of hope

David walked over just in time to see Hook's eyes roll open then close straight away, he seemed to be in a lot of pain as he moaned again.

"I will ask again, who did this?" Whale pointed at the machine as he stared at Emma intensely

"What?" Emma snapped back not appreciating the tone

"Who reduced his morphine?" He grit back "No wonder he's in pain"

Henry woke with a yawn "What's going on?" he asked as he stretched himself out

"Someone thought it would be appropriate to adjust Hook's morphine, I know you want him to wake up but right now that is not what he needs and quite frankly I'm surprise any of you would want to see him suffering like this" Whale looked livid but David moved to stop him adjusting it back to it's former level.

"What if sleep's not the best thing for him?" David asked cryptically causing Whale's hand to freeze

"What?" the Doctor asked in confusion.

"Look, you said earlier that you trusted your gut and that you were glad that you had so trust mine now. I need to speak to him and OK, yes, I may have gone about it all wrong but I just know that something isn't right. Please just let him wake up, I just need five minutes"

Whale sighed deeply but the answer he gave was not what David was expecting.

"Why did you not just say? I can still give him pain relief without the side effects of morphine" he walked quickly around the bed to go to the medicine cabinet. He took out the keys and unlocked it then continued to speak as he worked.

"I only used morphine because it has the side effect of sleep and I thought it was the best thing for him but if you think that is not the case I believe you, you have much more experience than I do at dealing with this kind of thing"

He moved quickly back around the bed, David watched as he injected a different drug into Hook's arm before removing the morphine pump fully.

"There, that should kick in quite soon and fingers crossed he should wake up in the next few minutes, it looks like Morpheus is finally letting him go" Whale gave a chuckle

"What did you say?" David grabbed Whale and spun him around to look him in the face

"What are you doing?" Whale yelled back clearly not happy at being man handled

"What did you say?" David repeated angrily

"I said he should wake up soon" Whale gave him an odd look like he was loosing his mind.

"Yeah, I got that bit but you said that something was finally letting him go"

"Yes, Morpheus" Whale looked really confused

"What the hell is Morpheus?" David practically yelled

"He's the God Of Sleep, that's how morphine got it's name, it's named after him" Whale said shaking his head at David's lack of knowledge but David's mind was reeling now, what the hell did this mean?

Then in an instant it all made sense, of course, how could they have all been so stupid?

"God Damnit, I knew I was right" he called out as he ran back across the room to grab Henry's note book.

He was back at the Pirate's bedside in seconds shoving the note book into Emma's hands.

"Morpheus... this was never Thanatos, not what's been happening to Hook..." he stopped talking abruptly as Hook's heart rate monitor gave a funny sounding beep drawing his attention away.

Whale stepped around him pulling his stethoscope out but before he even got a chance to put it to the Pirate's chest all the machines started screaming at once.

Every machine was wailing but all David could focus on was the flat green line on the most important machine of all and the words that left Whale's mouth next would haunt him forever as the Doctor slammed his hand on the call button to get some assistance.

"Shit... he's gone into cardiac arrest"


	19. Chapter 19

**I couldn't leave you guys with that cliffy so here is the last update before Christmas.**

 **I hope you all enjoy it and no matter where you are in the world I would like to thank every single one of you for following my fics and for the feedback that you give.**

 **Every time my phone bongs with a review you bring a smile to my face so THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.**

 **Merry Christmas xx**

This couldn't be happening, he'd JUST figured it out, this was supposed to be the part where they formed a rescue plan to save the day but instead David found himself watching in horror as Whale swiftly dropped the bed head down, ripped the pillows from under Hook's head and started performing CPR as a team of medics flooded the room.

He was pulled unceremoniously out of the way by Mary-Margaret who looked just as shocked as he did as they shuffled over to the side of the room with Henry in tow to try and get out of the way but Emma was not being as cooperative, she stood right by the Pirate's side still clutching his hand with a look of total shock still etched on her face.

"Someone grab a bag valve mask" Whale barked out to the medics then looked up at Emma "I'm sorry Miss Swan but I need you to step back, we need space to work"

Emma stood frozen to the spot seemingly unable to move, she just stood shaking her head in disbelief at the events unfolding in front of her eyes but David knew that she was just going to get in the way so he found himself coming up behind her and gently speaking in her ear.

"Come on, let them work"

She turned with wide eyes and his heart almost crumbled at the sight of his Daughter's heartbroken face when the tears that clung to her lashes finally fell.

"Dad?!"

He just pulled her away, he had to give a slight tug when she seemed unwilling to let her Pirate go but in the end she finally did and they walked away, David looked over his shoulder as they went to see Hook's arm hanging lifelessly over the edge of the bed where Emma had let it fall, the sight brought tears to David's own eyes as a mixture of his and Mary-Margaret's emotions hit him like a physical blow to the gut. He slowly moved with Emma back over to Mary-Margaret and Henry where she was quickly pulled into her Mother and Son's embrace but David couldn't join them he needed to see what was going on, he turned around to watch the scene unfolding on the other side of the room, mesmerized by the apparent chaos that he was witnessing.

The team worked in unison but with each passing minute David began to lose hope as the Pirate's heart refused to beat and when Whale slapped two large pads on either side of Hook's chest David knew that they were down to their last chance, if this didn't work it was over. Whale flicked on the defibrillator and brought the paddles down onto the gel pads then looked up at the nearest nurse.

"Charge to 200" the machine gave off a high pitch whistle then Whale spoke again "Clear"

The team all stepped back as Whale sent the electric pulse through Hook's chest, the Pirate's back arched up from the bed but the monitor didn't change, the green line just stayed as it was.

"Again" Whale grit out "Clear"

David couldn't take his eyes away, this had to work, God please let this work. Hook's back arched off the bed again and as he dropped back down the room went silent in anticipation but the monitor gave one blip then went back to it's continuous beep refusing to do what they all hoped it would.

"Come on Hook, don't do this, not now" Whale grit out then turned back to the nurse "Raise to 300... clear"

It started the same with Hook's back arching up from the mattress but as he came back down the machines all started screaming as the Pirate's heart sprang back to life but it didn't end there, Hook lurched forward coughing loudly as water spewed from his mouth across the bed and onto the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Whale shouted out as he grabbed hold of Hook to stop him tipping off the bed and landing in a heap on the floor.

Hook continued to cough and choke for a few minutes but eventually Whale managed to get him to lie down and when he was settled back onto the reclaimed pillows David finally got a good look at the man, he looked awful as he continued to try and drag air into his abused lungs.

The Charmings walked as one back over to the bedside when the nurses seemed to disperse leaving only Whale and Tess still working on the Pirate but as they approached Hook opened his eyes and saw them coming, he was instantly moving, trying to scrabble towards them.

Emma leapt forward and grabbed his outstretched hand "Hey, it's OK, you're OK. Calm down, I've got you"

But Hook shook his head violently as he coughed again, eyes screwing shut against the pain it was causing him.

"No... not... gone"

David got it, Hook was trying to warn them about Morpheus so he moved slowly forward so that the Pirate could see him but Hook still flinched when his eyes shot from Emma's face to his.

"We know, it's OK, it's Morpheus isn't it? He's still in your head isn't he?"

Hook fell back on his pillows with a sigh but all he could say in reply was "Aye" as he still struggled for breath

"Right, now we are over the dramatics can I just have a few minutes to make sure that he is alright?" Whale asked tersely as he brought an oxygen mask down over Hook's face causing the Pirate to jump in surprise then hiss in pain as a result.

"Sorry" Whale said sincerely before carrying on "What the happened to you anyway? How did you end up with half the ocean in your lungs"

Hook remained silent for a few seconds as he continued to breathe deeply, he still had his eyes closed and David was just starting to worry that he had fallen asleep again when the Pirate looked up at Whale with a lopsided smirk.

"I needed to show you all somehow... that the danger was not over... so I threw... myself over the... side of the... Jolly Roger...you know me...always like to make an entrance"

Emma punched Hook in the arm, hard.

"Next time try something that is not going to frighten me to death... I thought I'd lost you" she cried out, clearly still in distress.

"Sorry Love... didn't have... much choice... it was either... this or... have...my...tongue...gouged out" he was tiring fast and his eyes slid shut again as he took in a few gulping breaths.

"WHAT?" Emma yelled causing him to open them again in surprise "You know what? Never mind, you can tell me later, right now we need to figure out the best way to beat this daemon"

"God" David and Hook corrected in unison.

"Is that really relevant right now?" Emma snapped back giving an eye roll in annoyance.

"Aye Love... it means... that he is immortal" Hook replied giving Emma's hand a squeeze as he delivered the bad news

"No... but that means that you will never be safe! You can't stay awake forever" Emma cried out turning to look at David for answers but Hook spoke and drew her attention back to him

"It's alright Love... I know that... but I needed to... warn you... he plans... to take over... my body to... get to you" he paused while he dragged in a couple of deep breaths then carried on "You destroyed... his last one... and I needed you …. to know... that it wasn't... me... don't let...him... take... you next Swan... I couldn't bear that"

David knew then that the Pirate had only fought his way back to save Emma, he had drowned himself so that he could warn her, tell her that she was in danger from something she would never have seen coming. David wouldn't let this be the end, there had to be a way to deal with Morpheus they just had to find it before Hook fell back asleep.

David looked up at the Pirate again, he was exhausted and sleep already seemed to be tugging at him as he blinked heavily while trying to smile up at Emma.

"Don't you dare go back to sleep Pirate, we will find a way to beat Morpheus. Come on, you are too comfy lying there, sit yourself up, come on" David said grabbing the bed controls and raising his head back up.

"Too comfortable? Mate, I am lying in... wet bedding... it is hardly comfortable" Hook griped as he tried to push the wet blankets away.

Hook was right his bed was soaking wet, just how much water had he inhaled? Then David had an idea.

"Right, no problem, I can fix that" he said marching around the bed to where Whale had been standing as the Doctor moved out of the way "OK, if I lift him up can you guys take this bed away and bring my bed over? It's not like I'm going to be using it again"

Whale nodded and moved to the foot of the bed to disengage the brake so that they could wheel it away. David pulled Hook's bedding back, adjusted his lines so nothing got caught then slowly lifted the Pirate from the mattress up into his arms. As he stood waiting on the others moving the beds he was quite shocked to realize just how light the Pirate was. Nearly a week without food with his already slim frame had bones showing where they really shouldn't be but David didn't comment as Hook let his head fall against his shoulder, obviously too weak to hold it up any longer.

"No sleeping" David jostled the Pirate slightly to keep him awake, frightened that he might already be too late by the limpness of his limbs.

"Change the bloody record Mate" Hook replied in a tired whisper that only David could hear then he added "David, promise me something"

"What?"

"Make sure she is alright... if I... you know" he didn't finish, he didn't need to.

"Not a promise I'm gonna make Pirate, it's not me she needs to make sure she is alright... that's your job now" he whispered back then he was moving again as the new bed was pushed into place.

By the time Hook was settled beneath the dry covers his eyes were practically rolling in his head but Whale stepped in at this point and jabbed another drug into the Pirate's arm, almost instantly the Hook's eyes shot open and he blinked widely as he shook his head.

"Woah... what the bloody hell was that?" he gasped bringing his hand up to clutch at his chest as his monitor picked up a beat.

"Adrenalin in it's purest form and you're welcome" Whale smiled widely as he stepped back "I have a few tricks up my sleeve to keep you going, I've put in way too much effort at this point to let that... whatever it is inside your head do anymore irreparable damage"

"Thanks" David spoke quietly to the Doctor as he moved the defibrillator away from the bed, David looked back as Emma perch herself on the edge of the now very spritely looking Pirate's bed and took his hand in hers.

"Don't thank me just yet" Whale replied raising an eyebrow at him "this is not a long term solution, he is not even close to being out of danger from the injuries he's already received and I just want to make sure that he doesn't get anymore before you guys figure out how to defeat Morpheus. I am not going anywhere until I know this is over, he is going to need close monitoring with the drugs I am giving him so I guess that makes me part of the team now... finally I get to be part of the Scooby Gang" he grinned like an idiot as he looked at David with a twinkle in his eye and David got the impression the man just wanted to be part of something for once in his life.

"You can be an honorary member, glad to have you on board" David said with a grin as he clapped Whale on the arm but he was left standing slack jawed as Whale replied

"Great, in that case, you can go get the Scooby snacks, I'm starving"


	20. Chapter 20

**So here we are back again, I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas if you were celebrating.**

 **Let's find out what's going on back in Storybrooke.**

 **As always please review.**

 **Vigiliae, Staying Awake**

Killian smiled up at Emma, he felt strange as his heart continued to thump harshly in his chest from the drug that Whale had stuck in him. His whole body still felt bone tired, his limbs felt jittery and uncoordinated but his mind was crystal clear.

"You sure you're OK" Emma asked in a worried voice as she slid herself onto the edge of his new bed.

"I'm more awake than I have been for the longest time" he took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze as he gazed up into her eyes.

"You know that this drug won't last long, we still need to figure this thing out quickly"

"Aye Love" Killian closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the oxygen that still flowed from the mask over his face but it was uncomfortable, it made his mouth dry and his nose itch "Can you take this thing off me?"

"Not yet" Whale answered off to his side as he stepped forward "Give it another few minutes and I need you take some deep breaths too, it may make you cough which I know will hurt but I need to make sure all the water is out of your lungs, we do not need you developing pneumonia"

Killian rolled his eyes dramatically and looked back at Emma but she just raised her brows at him.

"You heard the man, deep breaths, come on the sooner you get it done the sooner the mask can come off and I can get to those lips"

The smirk that slid onto Killian's face was not planned but he found himself following Swan's lead as she sat in front of him pulling in deep breaths as if he didn't know what one was, he didn't comment he just breathed right along with her. The first couple he managed with little issue but as he dragged in the third he felt a very distinct gurgle deep in his chest which caused him to descend into a coughing fit that had him wishing that he had never been born. It was never ending and by the time it finally passed he hurt from head to toe as he lay panting on the bed gasping for breath again, would this cycle ever end?

Killian felt awful, the coughing fit had sucked away all his reclaimed energy and he could already feel sleep sneaking back up on him, he was just too tired to do anything anymore, too many days with no sleep was just proving too much for both his body and his mind.

"Swan?" he managed to gasp out as he lay back on his pillows completely spent "Too tired... I don't know how much longer... I can stay awake... please... I just need... this to stop... I need to sleep"

"Hook, come on, just open your eyes. Regina and the others are on their way it won't be much longer I promise but you can't go back to sleep, not just yet"

He tried, he really did but his eyelids were just too heavy and he couldn't do it. He heard Emma plead with Whale to do something but the room was fading out becoming muffled to his ears then it happened.

Black Beard's leering grin was right in his face, blade held up where Killian could see it and before he could even form a coherent thought his nemesis moved bringing the blade down, Killian reacted without thought and a scream was ripped from his throat as the sharp edge sliced across his right forearm but before he even had a chance to see the damage he lurched back into the real world with his heart once again slamming in his chest.

Everything hurt, there were too many people and his mind was racing but in amongst all the chaos he could still hear Black Beard's voice in his head taunting him.

"You can't hide from me forever Hook, you will be back and I will be waiting... you cannot escape, you will be mine"

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Damn it the Pirate had fallen asleep again, David had hoped that the adrenalin would have lasted longer than ten minutes but Whale had warned him that it was a short term thing. The Doc was working on something that would work for longer but there were hoops he had to jump through to get permission to use the drug, it wasn't exactly main stream medication. David stood at the side of the bed next to Emma as Whale readied another syringe.

"This is the last one of these I can use, any more could send him into cardiac arrest again but I'm hoping something else will be here soon" He grit out as he stepped forward but this time he slammed the needle into Hook's chest straight into his heart before he hit the plunger sending the drug into the Pirate's blood stream.

Hook's lurched back into reality but the minute he started flailing on the bed David could see that something was very wrong as something sprayed across the bed covering the blankets, David was confused for a split second until his brain finally registered that the spray was blood and it was coming from the Pirate.

"HE'S BLEEDING" David screamed out as he jumped forward clamping his hands over the gaping wound to staunch the flow without thought.

Instantly he was in chaos right along with Hook as his potion infused hand hit the Pirate's skin, images of Black Beard's snarling face hit his brain followed by images of Emma kicking Hook and another of her crying in the street in front of Granny's as Hook tried to comfort her then these ones were gone to be replaced by an image of his very own face as a blade sank into his gut and the emotions were just too much as he felt what the Pirate had gone through in that moment. He could feel both Hook and Snow's emotions battling inside him as Hook's horrors threatened to engulf him but Snow's hope was trying to fight them back, he could feel her reaching out to him.

Another round of images slammed into his brain taking away his breath and he could now feel the Pirate's fear, confusion and hopelessness right along with the vision as the face of a dark haired woman appeared in his mind along with her voice and David couldn't handle it... Morpheus had used Hook's own Mother against him and he could feel what that one simple act had done to the Pirate as a sob was torn from his own throat.

Then Black Beard was back, David's world spun, he didn't know what was happening but he could hear the man's deep voice in his head, taunting Hook. David knew in that minute that Morpheus was just waiting for the Pirate, waiting for him to fall back asleep then he would attack him again using who knows whose face. They had to find a way to beat him, they had to save Hook. David gave one last gulping gasp and then he was finally free as he was yanked away from the bed to fall bonelessly to the hard tiled floor in a heap.

David could hear the commotion but he couldn't concentrate, the tears were streaming down his face again and this time there was no stopping them. He felt Mary-Margaret pull him into her arms right there on the floor and little by little her emotions took over as Hook's faded away, it seemed that his connection to the Pirate was not as permanent as the one with Mary-Margaret and it only lasted as long as he had contact with Hook's skin, a fact that David was truly thankful for as he lay on the hard floor trying to sort himself out.

"David?" he heard Mary-Margaret whisper by his side, he could still feel her worry deep inside him as his chest gave one last hitch against the Pirate's unbearable burdens but he finally managed to open his eyes to see Snow's face haloed by one of the bright lights on the ceiling above him.

"Mary-Margaret?" he choked out as he squinted trying to focus his eyes up at his wife's face

"Come on, we need to get you up off the floor, we are in the way" she grit out already moving and pulling at his arm.

He was on his feet in seconds and pulled out of the way but his legs felt like jello and he had to fight hard to stop himself falling to the floor again. It must have been obvious as before he knew it Henry was guiding him into a chair that he had obviously carried over from the table.

"You OK Grandpa?" the Kid asked in a worried voice.

"I'm fine or I will be in just a minute, can you grab me some water?" David's heart was hammering in his chest and he wasn't sure how much of it was from his own experience or how much was from the Pirate's. His eyes fell back on the bed to see Whale still holding onto Hook's arm tightly as he tried to stop the bleeding, Hook himself was gasping for breath again with his eyes and teeth clamped shut but Emma was there for him, he could hear her soothing the man but David knew that nothing she said could bring comfort, he had seen inside the Pirate's head and in all honesty David wasn't sure how Hook was still managing to not lose his mind completely, hell David was close himself and he'd only had a glimpse at what the Pirate had been through.

Henry returned with the water and after a few minutes David started to feel a bit better as his emotions settled and Whale had finally started to stitch the Pirate's arm after injecting a local anesthetic, the slash ran almost from wrist to elbow and it looked quite deep.

"This is going to need more than a few stitches to repair it but all I can do right now is patch it up as best as I can. Hook, come on, open your eyes." Whale gave Hook a slight shake and the Pirate's eyes slowly opened to give the Doctor a death glare.

"Too tired..." he breathed out closing his eyes again, Whale gave a frown of concern but just then a nurse popped her head through the door taking his attention away.

"Doctor Whale, I have it" she smiled sweetly as she held out a vile to the Doc

Whale excused himself and David was on his feet and walking over to Hook's side in seconds, he lent around Emma and prodded Hook in the ribs knowing that that particular move worked the last time the Pirate had become stubborn.

Hook gasped then gave a long groan but it worked as his eyes opened again but when he stared at David the look in his eye was anything but angry. The Pirate couldn't hide anymore, it was too late for that and they both knew it, David had seen way more than Hook would ever have shared willingly and he seemed to be ashamed by what David knew.

"Sorry" he breathed out.

"Me too" David said quietly but his meaning was double sided

"You shouldn't have had to deal with that" Hook said quietly

"Neither should you" David said right back and he meant it "but you can't give up"

"I don't want to" Hook replied letting his eyes slide shut but he only let them rest for a second before he opened them again with a sigh.

"So don't" David spoke looking straight into Hook's eyes

David knew it was true, he knew that Hook didn't want to give up. The Pirate's worst fears were playing out for him, he didn't want to leave Emma, he had promised that he wouldn't. David had seen it and he had felt that Hook had genuinely meant it when he'd made that promise but most of all David had felt the Pirate's love for his Daughter and he knew it was very real.

Hook opened his eyes again but his gaze moved to Emma's face as she stood by David's side and all David could do was swallow the lump in his throat as a tear finally tumbled down the Pirate's cheek showing the outside world just a tiny part of his inner turmoil.

"Hey, you'll be OK." she said as she stepped closer to wipe the tear from his face but Whale coming back up to the bed had everyone looking up in hope.

"Sorry to interrupt but I think this may help. This is a drug called Modafinil, it's still experimental that's why it's taken so long for me to get it and we only have the one dose. This should give us about four hours before you start to tire again so whatever the plan is I suggest we get it moving quickly."

Whale injected the drug into Hook's IV line and within seconds David could see it working as the Pirate blinked widely trying to clear his mind.

"That has a certain kick to it" he said with a slight shake of his head "but at least my heart does not feel like it's going to burst out of my chest anymore. Thanks Doc"

Hook turned back to Emma and gave her a wide grin, David gave a slight smile, he knew that this was an act from Hook, he knew that there was no way that he was feeling that good it wasn't possible but he'd let him pull the wool over Emma's eyes for her sake.

"I do believe that a kiss was promised" Hook said raising an eyebrow and smirking behind his mask

"Really?" Emma replied coyly

"Aye"

David smiled to himself as Emma stepped forward, she pulled Hook's oxygen mask down around his neck and pecked him gently on the lips before stepping back.

"If you want more than that Pirate you will just have to wait until this is all over and we don't have an audience"

"Bloody Hell Swan" Hook moaned but he smiled at her as he lay back on his pillows still blinking his eyes widely trying to adjust his mind to being more awake.

David stepped back to leave the pair alone for a bit and brought his hand up to pull it down his own face, his mind was just a muddled mess, he was unable to sort out his own emotions from everyone elses but the worst part was that they still had to try and figure out how to defeat Morpheus. He turned away from the bed to find Mary-Margaret right by his side, there was no need for words, she just pulled him into her embrace and held him there.

"It's OK, I feel it too and I know it's overwhelming but if I know one thing for sure it's that you won't give up on him, we will find a way to end this."

He pulled her into a tighter hug knowing that she was right, they would all fight tooth and nail to beat this latest foe and as if of cue the door opened as Regina, Robin and Belle walked into the room.

"OK, who's had enough of this damned fool that thinks he can come to my town and mess with one of us?"

There was a chorus of answers but David's eyes were back on Hook, the Pirate wore a look of pure joy on his face as he stared at Regina's smiling face, he really did believe in the former evil queen and with her next words he believed too.

"Good, because we have a plan that is going to make Morpheus rue the day he messed with our Pirate"


	21. Chapter 21

**So finally I got to type up an update for you, things are crazy mental right now so this will probably be the last one until after the new year as I am out for Hogmanay tomorrow night.**

 **Happy New Year**

 **Cor Rem, Heart of the Matter**

Killian gave a huge sigh of relief, he knew that Regina was pissed and when the former Evil Queen was pissed whoever she was pissed at was in for trouble and right now Morpheus had just ticked that box. The others had all gathered around Henry's table and the room was filled with excited chatter as everyone was brought up to speed with all the latest details of what had happened a few minutes before.

Whale was still by Killian's side and as David was explaining without too much detail how he had burst into Killian's head after he had touched his skin the Doctor spoke in a low voice.

"How you feeling? I mean truthfully now that the rest of the Scooby Gang are distracted, I need to know so that I can give you the most effective drugs, don't just say that you are fine, I need details"

Killian sighed but decided that the Doctor deserved some kind of respect, he had managed to wake him up and save him from Morpheus' torture after all.

"I hurt, everything hurts and I can't seem to tell one injury from another the ache is just everywhere but at least I am no longer falling asleep at the drop of a hat even if the drug seems to have left me with a headache from hell"

"You have a headache?" Whale asked quickly stepping forward with a flashlight in his hand.

Killian winced when the light was suddenly shone in his eyes and it caused the pain to flair, a wave of nausea washed over him again and he broke out into another sweat, Gods would this ever end? The light was turned off quickly and Whale was moving again but Killian had closed his eyes now trying hard to calm his churning gut.

"I can give you something to help with the nausea but there's not much else I can do about the pain, you're already on more pain medication than you should be to try and counteract the drug I gave you to keep you awake, sorry but maybe this will help"

Killian heard a click and when he peeked his eyes open again it was to find the harsh lighting had been turned off and only a small wall mounted one remained on that gave off a much softer glow.

"Better?" Whale asked quietly

"Aye" he breathed out as his eyes slid shut again

"Hey, come on open your eyes" Whale said slightly louder

Killian furrowed his brow but kept them shut "I am not sleeping merely thinking"

"Well think out loud then so I know that you are still awake"

Killian supposed the Doctor did have a point so he voiced his inner monologue.

"I was just thinking that it is quite strange how Morpheus seems to know so much about all of us, how do you suppose that came to be?"

"Not sure. It's not like he's been running around town is it? Maybe he doesn't know as much as you think he does. Maybe he only knows what you know, maybe he's only showing you what you already know!"

Killian's eyes flew open "Of course, he knows my thoughts, my feelings and he's used my own fears against me"

"Makes sense" Whale shrugged but just then David's voice carried across from the other side of the room.

"So we need to use this, he'll never know what..."

"STOP" Killian yelled out across the room trying to sit himself up, he couldn't hear anymore.

"HOOK What are you doing?" Whale gasped out as he tried to stop him from causing himself any further damage but Killian needed them to understand. Swan and David were at his side in seconds with worried looks on their faces as Whale still tried to wrestle him back on the bed and eventually the Doctor won as Killian ran out of strength to keep fighting.

"What's going on" Swan asked him quietly as she took hold of his hand gently being careful of his stitched arm.

"You need to stop" he breathed out harshly

"Killian you're not making any sense." Emma gave him another worried look as she reached up to brush the hair from his forehead.

"I'm making perfect sense believe me" he lent back and let his eyes slide shut again "Morpheus only knows as much as I know"

"OK" he heard Swan answer in a whisper. "So?"

"So you can't let me know what the plan is... if we are to beat him I cannot know how it is to be done otherwise he will know too"

There was a collective murmur around the room as they all realized that he was making sense after all.

"He has a point" Regina's voice was by the bed now and he opened his eyes to see her looking at him in concern. "We will find somewhere else to discuss this and I'll see if there is anyway that I can remedy that issue."

"You can use my office, end of the corridor and to the right" Whale offered

"Perfect, come on people. From the look of Captain Catnap here we don't have much time to figure this thing out" The rest of the group moved back to the table to grab all their research but Regina remained, she lowered her voice and spoke again "I promise you that we will be as quick as we can so no sleeping while we are gone"

"Promise" Killian replied giving her a tired smile.

A few minutes later he was left in the room with only Whale and Henry for company.

"Did you not want to know the plan Lad?"

"Nah, I can find out later. It's not like I'm gonna be allowed to help from what I already heard so I'd rather stay here with you"

"Well I'm glad" Killian said with a sigh "I just hope whatever they are planning happens soon, then maybe I will finally be able to sleep"

"Believe me, once this is done you will have no choice in the matter. I still need to fix that arm of yours so you will be put under for that and I cannot keep filling you full of all these drugs, your body will simply not have a choice when I remove them, I am fully expecting you to be out for a good few days when I put you back on the morphine."

"Do you have to? I want nothing more to do with him"

"If I had something else I could use I would but it really is the best thing for you. I promise that I will not put you under until I am one hundred percent positive that Morpheus is gone"

Killian sighed again but he didn't have the energy to argue, he chuckled and a smirk slid onto his face "I trust you, just don't go spreading that around town"

"Thanks... I think" Whale replied with a smirk of his own.

 **ONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIME**

"REGINA YOU CAN'T" David yelled out after her as she strode from Whale's office heading back towards Hook's room.

"I do believe that I just proved that I can" she replied turning to look him in the eye as the others all piled out of the door after the two of them.

David couldn't believe what she was planning to do and he reached out to grab her arm trying to stop her. This was too much, Hook had been through enough already, there had to be another way, Regina gave him a stony look before finally softening her features with a sigh

"Look, you said it yourself... it is the only way and we don't have much time so either you are with me and you let me go or you are against me and we have a problem" The Queen raised a brow high on her head in question.

"Emma, you can't think this is a good idea" He turned to his Daughter looking for her to back him up.

"I don't like it either but I can't see any other way round it" Emma looked close to tears as she moved forward to pull his hand away from Regina's arm. "Dad, we need to do something otherwise we're going to lose him and I am not willing to let that happen"

David sighed heavily knowing that Emma was right but the thought of what Regina was about to do made his stomach churn, he knew how he felt and he hadn't been through half the stuff that Hook had, this might be too much.

He couldn't say anything but he finally let his hand fall and Regina turned to walk quickly back down the corridor towards Hook's room. They all came to a stand still a few minutes later and David watched as Regina pulled in one final breath before pushing through the doors.

The Queen walked straight over to the bed without hesitation and the Pirate actually gave her a smile before something changed on his face, he suddenly seemed to realize that something was wrong but by then it was too late as Regina thrust her hand through Hook's chest. The Pirate screamed out in agony as his back arched high from the mattress again but Regina paid no attention, she just grit her teeth and tugged hard pulling Hook's not quite so dark heart from his chest holding it tightly in her fist above the bed.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Whale yelled out as he launched himself forward trying to get Regina away from Hook.

"Calm yourself, it's not like you have never seen this done before and this was the only way but hold your tongue until I am gone, I will not have you giving anything away"

Regina turned back to the group by the door "I'll be back in a minute, I just need to find a safe place that no one will find" then she was gone in her purple cloud leaving the view to the Pirate's bed very clear.

Hook was still writhing around on the bed but Emma was now by his side as Whale was looking frantically at the heart rate monitor as it continued to send an alarm out into the quiet room. David moved quickly, he needed Hook to understand what was going on but he knew that the Pirate would be confused and disorientated from this unexpected attack from the people he thought he could trust and he was right as Hook practically jumped from the bed when Emma tried to take his hand to sooth him.

"No no no... can't be real... can't be happening" he grit out through his clamped jaw as he shoved Emma away, she stepped back looking very close to tears again but David wasn't giving in.

"HOOK" He yelled knowing that this had worked in the cave but this time the Pirate didn't stop he only jumped again at the loud noise and gave a groan as he tried to bring his hand up to his head but the bulky bandaging on his arm prevented the move

"Would you all just back off... look I have no idea what the hell is going on but he is in enough pain right now without you adding anymore." Whale barged between them and the bed making it clear that he meant business.

Both David and Emma stepped back this time to stand next to Mary-Margaret, Belle and Robin. Henry was just standing with his mouth hanging open as the bottom of the bed as Whale turned back round towards Hook.

"Come on Pirate, take some deep breaths, you need to slow your heart rate down" Whale tried to sooth as he desperately tried to adjust all the machines to stop the alarms.

"Not real... must be sleeping... need to wake up" Hook gasped out as he tried to curl onto his side.

"Not this time buddy, the Evil Queen is very real I can assure you" Whale moved around the bed again giving another loud sigh "I'm not sure what else I can give you, are you still in much pain?"

David watched as Hook finally started to relax, he now lay on his side facing them all standing by the door.

"I'm fine" he whispered but he looked anything other than fine as he let his eyes close again still breathing heavily into his pillows.

"Well that depends on your definition of "Fine" doesn't it?" Whale retorted not buying what the Pirate was saying and David had to agree.

David gave Emma a glance as he stepped forward again, he needed to explain what was going on to the Pirate, let him know that it was the only way. He stopped by the bed but the minute Hook's eyes opened again he immediately started trying to back away instantly shaking his head again.

"Hey, it's me" David tried to get him to listen but it was no use, the last part of reality that the Pirate had believed in was gone, he thought he was trapped in the dream world again and he was left doubting everything that he could see.

A idea hit David and without waiting he darted forward to lay his hand for a split second onto Hook's bare shoulder. It was literally for the blink of an eye but the emotions that hit him nearly took his legs away even if they were not as intense as the last time they still packed a punch and he had to grip onto the bed rail to stop his ass hitting the floor.

"See, you know it's me now. Hook, I promise you that this is reality and I promise you that there is a very good reason for what Regina has just done. She took mine too, you know I'm not lying, you can feel the difference."

Hook's eyes opened wide in wonder "David? Why? Why would Regina do that?"

"So he can't use you anymore. I know it sounds crazy but it might just work. When you were sleeping in the cave Morpheus came to me as the old man, he knew that there was something different with my heart and he couldn't sense me. We figured that if he couldn't sense me because I had half of Mary-Margaret's heart in my chest that he won't be able to sense you at all if you have no heart at all, it's the only way, I'm sorry you had to go through that but we are going to beat him and I will be with you every step of the way, I promise."

Hook managed to get himself onto his back again but he still flinched when David moved to fix his blankets instantly apologizing when he realized what he had done.

"It's OK. I get it. Hey, Emma is here, you want to see her? I know that you are struggling with your memories, I'm sure she'd understand if you wanted some alone time" David had been hit with more memories of Morpheus using Emma's face to torture Hook when he had touched the Pirate's skin and knew how Hook was feeling right now but he shook his head violently as he tried to look around David searching for Emma anyway.

"Swan" he cried out and his voice gave a wobble of emotion as he battled his own inner demons.

"Hook, I am so sorry. We didn't want to but there was no other way to stop him hurting you"

"It's alright Love" Hook replied as he held a still slightly shaking hand out for her to take. "If you had discussed it with me I would have agreed but that was not an option and I understand that. I was just caught by surprise, not something I am dealing with too well at the moment" he gave a lopsided grin and a chuckle as he squeezed her hand gently giving a gasp as it obviously pulled on his damaged arm.

Hook looked better than he had but he still pretty much looked like death warmed up, David's eyes moved back to the heart rate monitor to see that the Pirate's temperature had risen back up to 103 again, he walked slowly around the bed to come up next to the Doctor trying not to draw attention to himself as the others came up to talk to the Pirate.

"Whale?" he whispered then indicated to the thermometer reading with his eyes.

"I know but there is little more than I can do, his body is simply not coping with all that is going on. Normally when a patient is in Hook's position they are kept sedated and the body has time to recover but that is not an option that I have. He is already on strong antibiotics and far too many painkillers for his own good but nothing seems to be working. How much longer is this likely to take?"

"I'm not sure, we have a plan... a good one but it is going to be risky. We just need Regina to get back then we can start so I suggest you get your drug of choice ready, we're going to need to put him to sleep" David said giving a nod towards the bed

"What? Are you crazy?" Whale hissed

"Maybe because this time he's not going alone, I'm going with him"


	22. Chapter 22

**A very Happy New Year to Everyone, this is a shorter update for you that I managed to type up while dinner was cooking, now to kick back, eat and watch lots of TV.**

 **Enjoy**

 **Bellum Consillia, Battle Plans**

Killian felt awful and his headache was getting worse by the minute, he was just about ready to jump from the nearest building to finally put an end to it all... but that would only work if he could get there and right now he was struggling to keep his eyes open never mind scale the clock tower so here he was, stuck in this damn bed with no escape from his own blasted misery.

"Killian, open your eyes" Swan's voice broke through his thoughts and he peeled back his eyelids to see her worried face in front of him.

"Sorry" he muttered for the millionth time

"It's OK, hopefully this will all be over soon and you will be able to sleep for as long as you want"

He just smiled at her hoping that she was right, the drug that Whale had given him was obviously wearing off and Killian could literally feel himself wilting on the bed, he had no energy, no willpower to do anything anymore. Every breath he took held more pain than he thought he could bear but he didn't let on, he just kept on smiling unwilling to worry Emma any further.

"So what is the plan?" he asked the room closing one eye to try and stop some of the pain in his head.

"You remember this?" Belle asked coming up to the side of his bed

His eye popped back open again as he looked at the poppy seal that Belle had stood on back in the shop a few days before but it was no longer broken, it was whole.

"Aye, but it was broken" he looked at Belle's face in confusion.

"And now it's fixed, Regina saw to that. You see this whole thing was never about you dropping that book, everything was already set in motion before you took the books back to the library for me, Killian I am so sorry, this is all my fault." Belle looked distraught as she stood by his bedside and Mary-Margaret was quick to throw an arm of comfort around the librarian's shoulder

"I don't understand" Killian furrowed his brow, what the hell was going on?

"In searching for a way to save Rumple I brought two books together that should never have been on the same shelf never mind stacked on top of each other. Both books are linked, I went back to the library and found the book on Morpheus, it too has changed to reveal a secret message inside the cover and when you read them together, one passage from Thanatos' then one from Morpheus' they make sense. It would seem that the legend of Thanatos is a work of fiction, it was never him causing all the misery he was known for but Morpheus masquerading as him. However when they were both captured the other Gods could not be sure who was telling the truth so both were bound, apparently a suggestion made by Thanatos himself as a way to finally free the world of Morpheus, he seemed willing to sacrifice his freedom to ensure that Morpheus lost his. Thanatos was bound to his book where his original story was told but this story changed after he escaped and drank from the well finally revealing the truth to anyone who looked at the book closely enough. Morpheus was bound to this seal which was then hidden in picture form inside his tale but it would seem that after the original curse was cast the truth was somehow discovered by Zeus himself but by then it was too late, if Thanatos was freed Morpheus would escape too and they now knew he could take on any form, he could disappear without trace so it was decided to change the curse, adjust it so that if ever Morpheus was freed Thanatos too would be released to recapture him. Both the Gods were related, Thanatos being Morpheus' Uncle so Morpheus could not hide his true face from Thanatos therefore he couldn't simply disappear to wreak more havoc. I don't know how I did it but somehow I broke the curse and this seal was released from the book and when I broke it by stepping on it this set into motion the events that saw Thanatos escape too to recapture Morpheus but of course we didn't know that and before Thanatos had a chance to take Morpheus back we stepped in, Killian I am so so sorry"

"It's alright Love there is no need to blame yourself, if you remember rightly I was more than a little clumsy that day, it could well have been something I did that set Morpheus free and quite frankly I am glad that it was you that was left unharmed to figure this whole thing out. I know that my research skills have improved greatly but you and Henry have outdone yourselves this time and who knew that this whole mess would show that Prince Charming over there is such a book worm too" Killian gave a chuckle as he looked across the room but he stopped when he realized that David wasn't listening to him, he had changed back into his normal every day clothes and was now talking intently with Whale as Regina mixed a potion in front of them.

Killian looked up at Swan with more confusion "What's going on Love?"

"Nothing for you to worry about just yet" she gave him a smile but he could see the worry deep in her heart.

Killian was really nervous as he watched David and Regina obviously discussing the plan, how was he supposed to fight Morpheus when he could barely lift his head from his pillow but he knew one thing for sure, if this was to be his last battle he needed something.

"Love"

Emma hummed in reply

"Can you retrieve my hook for me?"

"Your hook?"

"Aye, my hook..."

"Why?"

Killian sighed heavily, Emma was not going to like his thoughts behind it but this was something he needed right now, his hook was part of him and he needed it, would she understand?

"If this is to be my last battle I want it with me" he whispered not meeting her gaze

"Killian, don't talk like that. We are going to defeat him" Emma put her hand up to cup his face and he could see the tears in her eyes but he knew that he was right, there was a chance that he may not survive.

"I wish I had your faith Love, I really do but right now I can barely keep my eyes open never mind fight off a God that can change his face into anyone I have ever met"

"Well it's lucky you won't need to then... that's where I come in" David said brightly walking up to the bed

"Come again" Killian was really confused now

"I told you I'd be by your side every step of the way... I'm coming with you. Regina has adapted the potion so that I don't get fried every time I touch you and she has also added a little sleeping draft along with a small binding spell, in essence I am about to invade your dreams and Morpheus will never see it coming. He'll be so concerned with what we have done to you that I can sneak up behind him and trap him back in this damn seal before he can even lay a finger on you" David grinned at him like a mad man.

"You are insane! I cannot let you do that... what if it doesn't work? What if I do not wake again? Will you be trapped? What if I die? Will you die too?" Killian struggled to sit himself up a bit, he couldn't let David do this.

"Hmmmmm... not sure about any of those things but I guess we are going to find out."

"Stop, wait... you can't do this. There are too many unanswered questions, I can't let you." Killian pleaded with David

"OK, here is one question for you then. If it were me lying where you are now would you do this? Would you put yourself in danger to make sure that Emma got her Father back?"

Killian couldn't answer, David was right, if the rolls were reversed he would do anything to save Emma more pain.

"That's what I thought Pirate so just accept that this is how it is going to be and that it is going to work. Half an hour from now you will be free from Morpheus and we can all get on with our lives. OK?"

"IF we are to do this I still want my hook" he turned back to look at Emma "Please Love, this is something I need"

Emma gave him a watery smile and a few seconds later he saw his hook being passed carefully over by the leather bindings, Emma started attaching it back into it's proper place and Killian let out a long breath as he finally felt whole again, he couldn't explain it but his hook was a comfort that he just missed when it was not there. When Emma finished attaching his brace he lifted it experimentally but his arm swayed dramatically and in the end all he could do was let it fall back onto the bed.

"At least I'll look the part" he said with a tired smile

"You will be fine" Emma gave his arm just above his brace a squeeze of comfort

"I hope so, I just know that he is waiting for me and the minute I return he will attack, it's not exactly something that I am looking forward to"

David cut into their conversation drawing Kilian's attention away "Don't bank on it, we don't know if he will know straight away that you are there or not but don't worry, I will be there with you and this time I will have my sword... I am only telling you this ahead of time so you are prepared, the last thing I need is you stabbing me with the thing because you think I'm Morpheus"

Images instantly flooded Killian's mind again and his heart rate jumped up as he pulled in a few deep breaths trying to calm himself, why did David have to mention that?

"Don't remind me" he almost whispered as another wave of nausea washed over him at the memory causing him to close his eyes to steady the room

"Sorry but you needed to know." David paused long enough for Killian to calm himself but there was no escaping this and when he opened his eyes again David was still there "Are you ready to get this done?"

Killian wasn't, not even sort of but he found himself nodding anyway as the heart rate monitor started to sound in time to the frantic beat going on inside his chest.

"OK then" Whale said moving around to the other side of the bed "David, sit here and ready yourself with that new potion of yours while I prepare the syringe"

Killian watched as David quickly kissed Mary-Margaret then sat himself down by his side giving him a cocky smile

"We're gonna do this" he said with a voice full of hope as he tipped some of the potion on to his hand then passed the bottle back to Regina as he rubbed his hands together. Belle handed him the seal which he stuck in his shirt pocket then he took his sword from Mary-Margaret laying it down on the blankets next to Killian's legs. "Ready when you are Whale"

Killian looked quickly to the Doctor as he moved up to his side "You two have 15 minutes, if you are not back I am waking Hook up, well I'm going to try to wake Hook up, you know that there are no guarantees anymore"

David just nodded and Whale shook his head as he finally stuck the needle into Killian's IV line with a sigh, within seconds Killian could feel it working as the room dipped out. Without meaning too he started fighting against the darkness until he heard Emma's voice.

"It's OK Hook, don't fight, you need to let go, let us help you" and with that he gave in and let it take him hoping to the Gods above that Emma was right and that this would be over soon.

Just as he was finally moving from one plain to the next he suddenly felt a surge of emotion then David's voice was with him... in him... he had no time to ponder the strange sensation as the Princes' words became clear

"HOOK... WAKE UP... WE NEED TO MOVE... NOW"


	23. Chapter 23

**So as you have probably all seen your reviews are not showing for this fic, I am hoping that this will be fixed soon as the counter is still going up and I have reported the issue.**

 **Please please please continue to leave reviews as I still get them to my email so I still get your wonderful feed back.**

 **Mala Electio, Bad Choice**

Killian was on his feet and moving before he had even got his bearings but he was by no means in control of his limbs as David practically dragged him through the undergrowth.

"Nnnnnggggggg" he tried to stop the sounds escaping him but the pain was unbearable as he was jostled from side to side.

"Come on, we can't stop... it's coming this way" David yelled out as he briefly stopped to hike Killian further up by pulling his left arm over his shoulder but this meant that when he brought his hand down onto Killian's lower back to add to the support he pressed straight on to his surgery wound and this time the yell that left him couldn't be contained, he was left rasping in breaths as he carried on blindly forward .

"Sorry" was all David grit out adjusting his grip but he didn't stop he just kept pulling Killian along by his side.

"Stop... please... stop" Killian mumbled as his head tipped forward and his legs finally gave way, he had no idea where he was or where he was going, all he knew was that they were in a forest, it was dark and it was very cold.

David ground to a stop and for a split second Killian thought he had listened to his pleas but he was wrong.

"This is going to hurt but it will be faster" David took hold of Killian's chin and tipped his head back to meet his eyes "I'm sorry, as soon as I can stop I will, I promise"

Before Killian knew it he was hoisted up on David's shoulder and moving before the pain even registered.

It didn't last as the agony surged through him literally taking his breath away. David's shoulder dug painfully into his wounds and before too long Killian could feel the warmth of his own blood soaking through his front as he hung limply, arms swinging loosely down David's back. He could do nothing more than grunt at every movement and by the time David finally stopped and lowered him to the ground he wasn't even able to think anymore.

He lay for a while just breathing in ragged breaths, he could hear David shouting in the distance but he didn't know what was going on, was the Prince fighting Morpheus?

Killian seemed to lose track of time as silence fell around him but eventually David was by his side again giving him a gentle nudge to bring him round.

"Hook, come on open your eyes" David whispered obviously not wanting to draw attention to them.

Killian managed to do what he asked but when he looked up at the Prince it was to find him bloody and bruised, his heart instantly thumped in his chest at the sight of his friend.

"David?" he gasped trying to sit up

"I'm OK... stay where you are" David smiled at him as he gently pushed him back onto the ground

"What happened? Where are we? Is he gone?" Killian looked about wildly trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

"You don't recognize this place?" David asked in confusion

Killian looked about again, he seemed to be lying in a clearing of some sort, they were in a forest but he didn't know it.

"No, never seen it before" He looked back at David's battered face "Is he gone?"

"I wasn't fighting him, I was fighting an Ogre. It's over there... dead" David pointed with a nod to the far side of the clearing and Killian's eyes followed to see that he was right.

"None of this makes sense" Killian mumbled closing his eyes against his ever growing headache

"Why?"

"Because every other time I have been with him it has been somewhere I have known well and there has never been another living thing other than him in disguise so either you have slain Morpheus disguised as an Ogre or this is truly a dream"

"Great, you dream about Ogre's attacking you in random forests? Could you not dream about a nice warm beach somewhere" David complained but he was back in mother hen mode as he pulled back the bandaging on Killian's front to look at the wound on his front giving a hiss at the messy sight before him

"The last time I did that I ended up with an arrow in my back" Killian grit out through clenched teeth as David tried to stop the bleeding.

"Hmmmm... good point" David chuckled "Cold dark woods it is then"

"Ahhhhh" Killian's breath hitched against the searing pain in his chest but he knew that David was only trying to help so he tried his best to stifle his groans as the Prince continued to work.

"Sorry" David said quickly "Nearly done"

A few minutes later and David pulled him up into his arms, Killian stared straight up at the battered Princes' face above him.

"You alright?" Killian asked as his eyes slid shut again.

"I'll live which is more than can be said for you if we don't find Morpheus soon and get you out of here"

Killian couldn't disagree, he had never felt like this, not even once in his entire life and part of him just wanted to give up but that would mean Emma would be in danger and that was not an option so he pulled his eyes open.

"I'm open to any suggestions on how you would like to proceed"

"I say we just sit tight, I recon we only have about five minutes before Whale wakes you up. From what I can see as long as you don't have your heart Morpheus can't invade your dreams. This is good, it means you can have time to sleep, recover a bit before we take him on."

"Good plan, I like how you think" Killian tried to sigh in relief but it caught in his throat and turned into a cough which had him curling in on himself as he tried in vain to fight off the pain.

"Hey, come on take a deep breath, come on Hook breathe" David was practically begging him but he couldn't do anything other than choke as his chest gurgled refusing to allow the oxygen in.

By the time the cough had passed he was spent, unable to even talk anymore but he knew that it was alright, he would be back in Storybrooke in a few minutes and David would be safe, they would all be safe and Whale could do whatever the hell he wanted to him, he didn't care anymore, he was going to sleep for as long as humanly possible and no one was going to stop him.

They sat in silence both knowing that he couldn't talk anymore but after a few minutes the whole voice echoing in his head and around him at the same time happened again as David spoke.

"This is interesting isn't it... back off... I don't think so"

Killian was really confused, what was David talking about? He pulled his eyes open to look up the Prince but David wasn't looking at him, he was staring straight ahead. Killian's eyes moved already fearing the truth and when his gaze fell on a duplicate copy of David stalking towards them his stomach dropped.

"Noooooo" the word escaped Killian in a slow moan but he had no time to say anything else as David started scooting out from behind him lying him flat on the ground as he went.

"Get back from him, you have no use for him any more" David yelled grabbing his sword and stepping forward.

"Really?" God David sneered "What makes you say that?"

"We took his heart" David and actually smirked but the God only laughed loudly causing David to frown in confusion.

"Yes, yes you did, I can tell... thank you for that"

"What? You can't hurt him anymore!" David said but it sounded more like a question than a statement of truth

"Is that what you think?" God David gave another loud laugh "You fool, I said that I couldn't sense you not that I couldn't hurt you and you have just made things so much easier for me, you have removed the last obstacle that was standing in my way. By removing his heart there is nothing stopping me taking over his body anymore, his stubborn "heartfelt" emotions were the only thing getting in my way. All I have to do now is kill you and pretend that you died putting me back into my poppy. Yes, I know you have it with you, I could still hear you know, even if I can't sense him anymore I'm in his head, what he hears I hear and I heard your whole plan, you people are so stupid"

Killian couldn't believe this, he had thought it was over, he had thought they had really found a way to win but Morpheus had played them, he knew exactly what was going on and now he was going to try and kill David then he was going after Emma using Killian's own body as his way to her soul.

David moved forward holding his sword out in front of himself.

"There's only one thing wrong with that plan... I'm not that easy to kill" he gave a smirk as he stepped off to the side.

God David moved too and as he went an identical sword appeared in his hand. Killian could only watch as they got ready to fight unable to do anything to help, he managed to drag himself over to a large boulder using it to pull himself up into a sitting position the obvious adrenalin rush helping him.

Then the David's were moving, steal clashed and sparks flew as they met each other blow for blow and before too long Killian had lost track of who was who, he had no idea if his David was winning or not as one of the two men grunted when the other's blade sliced a nick in his face.

"Hook, you need to help me, he's going to win" one of them shouted

"No, stay where you are" the other shouted "That's Morpheus"

"No, he's Morpheus"

"Don't lie, he won't be fooled"

"I know he won't, that's why he'll know that you are the fake not me"

"STOP" Killian yelled, his head was spinning and this was not helping "Just stop, I can't tell you apart. David just beat him so we can bloody well go home"

"Easier said than done" a David yelled out

"He's good but I'm better" Grit out the David with the cut face but seconds later the smirk was knocked from his face as the hilt of the other David's sword clattered into the side of his head and he fell in a heap onto the ground with a grunt. The standing David watched as the other fell pausing only to pull in a few deep breaths then he was moving, he leapt over the fallen man and sprinted over to where Killian lay dropping down on to his knees by his side.

"Come on, we need to go" he gasped looking over his shoulder at the fallen man.

Killian wasn't fooled, he knew that this was Morpheus. His David had come here with one purpose only, to put the God back in his seal. If this was the real David the first thing he would have done was send Morpheus back where he belonged not come over to his side.

"Get away from me" Killian yelled out as Morpheus tried to grab him "You are not David"

Morpheus looked shocked for a second before he adjusted his features.

"It is me, I swear" he said lowering his voice and speaking gently as if this would convince Killian but he would not be fooled.

"No...no it's not. David would have trapped you in your seal the minute he defeated you not come over here, you are Morpheus" Killian spat out as tried to bat Morpheus' hand away when he brought it up to try and grab him again.

"Very clever... not that it will do you much good now. You are mine Killian Jones, once I take over that body of yours I will kill that damn fool with his own sword before waking up to play the invalid for a good few weeks, do you think Swan will be a good nurse maid?"

Killian's blood ran cold, he couldn't let this happen, he had to save both David and Emma, losing was not an option but before he had a chance to even think what to do Morpheus made his move, he grabbed Killian's head in his hands and Killian could literally feel the God pouring his essence inside his mind.

He found himself screaming out loud as every part of his being protested the invasion, he had to do something, anything to save himself so he did the only thing that he could, he used the one constant that had literally been by his side for hundreds of years... he raised his hook and slammed it into the God's shoulder with every last bit of his strength.

A blinding white light blasted from the point of impact and as the God opened his mouth in a scream of his own the light burst from there too but it would seem that light was not the only thing that was fleeing. Killian had felt this before when he had made this same move with Thanatos. It would seem that the potion on his hook was still active and he was once again hit with another God's emotional baggage but this time he could feel all the tortured souls that Morpheus had devoured in his life time and it was too much, he couldn't bare it as another scream was torn from his mouth.

Both man and God remained screaming into the darkness, locked in a battle that was going nowhere, neither had the means to end it and both were stuck in hell as vision after vision and emotion after emotion blasted free into the air literally sizzling anything that got in their way.

The tears were cascading down Killian's face as he fought yet another broken soul's last miserable moments playing out in his head but then he heard it, another echoing voice that was definitely not part of this dream sounded out around them and his heart leapt with joy.

"I can't wake him, it's no use... we can only hope that he wakes himself"

The words registered and Killian's last hope left him, he was never getting home, with one last shuddering breath he finally accepted his fate and as Whale spoke again Killian stopped fighting and let the misery take him.


	24. Chapter 24

**Poor Hook... Poor David.**

 **Will they make it back to reality?**

 **Let's find out**

 **As always please review...**

 **Ultima Pugna, Final Fight**

Emma paced back and forth hugging herself tightly, she felt useless. She had been banished to the other side of the room like a naughty child a few minutes earlier after she could literally feel her magic crackling around her and it had started to effect Hook's machinery, it was more than a little disconcerting to feel like she was losing control again... so she paced!

"Calm down Swan" Regina whispered as she stalked up to her side. "This will be over soon"

"I hope you're right, I don't know how much more I can take...or how much more he can take!" the tears that she had tried to hold back burst loose to flow down her face as she spoke the fear that she had been trying to hide from

"Hey hey hey... come on now. This is a good plan" Regina moved forward and placed her hand on Emma's arm as a show of support "You need to get your magic under control and then you can go back over, Mary-Margaret needs us there. You can do this, I know you can, do it for your Mother, this is hard for her too"

Regina gave her a warm smile before heading back over to the bed and Emma knew that the Queen was right, of course Regina was right, she needed to pull herself together so she pulled in a huge breath and held it concentrating hard. She closed her eyes and searched her heart for anything to help her and that's when she saw his face, his perfect stupid face grinning up at her wiggling that damn eyebrow of his.

"OK, I get it. You're good at surviving. Well, you better be right Pirate... because I can't lose you" Emma gave a sigh as she turned back to face into the room and met her Mom's gaze.

Mary-Margaret had such a worried look on her face that Emma's heart skipped a beat, she pulled in another deep breath and headed back over to her Mom's side.

"You alright?" Mary-Margaret asked with a frown

"I'm good. " Emma said to her Mom then looked to Whale "How are they doing?"

"Everything seems to be fine for the moment..." he trailed off as Hook's heart monitor starting sounding wildly behind him

"What's going on?" Emma said stepping forward but as she did her eyes fell on David where he lay slumped by Hook's hip, it was hard to believe what he was doing right now when he looked so peaceful just lying there.

"I suppose it's only to be expected if they are facing Morpheus but his heart rate is practically through the roof."

"Is there nothing you can do to lower it?" Emma asked desperately

"Not really, just hope that this is over quickly!"

"Great... that's what the Doctor orders is it? A good old dose of hope" Emma snarled as she walked around the bed to get a bit of space before she lost it again.

"Emma! Mary-Margaret cried out "That is not fair, Victor is doing his best!

"I know, I'm sorry..." Emma cringed "Just ignore me"

Whale said nothing, he just gave a small smile as he carried on doing whatever the hell he was doing but Emma could feel her heart pounding in her chest again, why couldn't this be over with already?

She was back to hugging herself not knowing what else to do with her arms, Regina had said that it was best not to touch either Hook or her Dad, they didn't want to break the link between them by accident not knowing if it could be dangerous to both of them but as Emma's eyes fell back on to Hook she forgot all that she had been told when she suddenly jumped forward clamping her hand on the bloody bandage on his front when she saw blood leaking from under it at an alarming rate.

"He's bleeding again!" she grit out trying to maintain the pressure

"Let go Miss Swan, I need to see" Whale yelled as he grabbed hold of her hands to pull them off.

Whale pulled back the bandaging to show the burst stitching beneath, he moved quickly pressing a fresh dressing onto the open wound.

"Hold this in place" he cried looking into Emma's eyes and for a slpit second he looked lost, like he didn't know how to deal with this but then he was back "I need to get a suture kit"

Emma pressed her hands back over the dressing and watched as Whale ran to the treatment trolley but he never got the chance to get there before Mary-Margaret yelled out in despair causing him to turn in surprise. Emma followed her Mom's gaze and her eyes fell on her David's face which was suddenly covered in bruises, what the hell?

"David!" Mary-Margaret cried out as she brought her hand up to her mouth "Regina, what's going on? I thought you said that Morpheus couldn't hurt him? You said that he would be safe"

"Well it would seem I was wrong about that." The Queen said raising an eyebrow "Just wait, they can still do this, give them a minute"

Emma's eyes fell back on Hook, what were they going through? Would they be OK? Suddenly things seemed to calm, Hook's heart rate started to drop back to a normal level and Emma looked to Regina with renewed hope but she should have known better because it didn't last, before she knew it Hook's heart was racing again and the monitor sent out an alarm into the room making Whale fret even more than the last time.

"I'm not sure how much more of this he can take" he yelled out above the din although Emma wasn't listening anymore, she had just glanced at David and could see a fresh cut on his face just below his right eye but that's not what she was looking at now. She squinted her eyes and tipped her head to the side slightly trying to see what the dark mark was on the blankets by his head... then it hit her.

"Whale... David's head!" She yelled out and the Doctor was moving from one man to the other once more.

"I can't see, I need to move his head." Whale said to no one in particular as he moved forward.

"DO NOT BREAK THE CONTACT" Regina yelled just as Whale was about to move David's arm causing him to freeze

"I need to see his head, there's a lot of blood" he exclaimed looking to the Queen with wide eyes

"I'm not saying you can't, just give me a minute, I can try and seal the bond with magic" Regina replied stepping forward to the bedside again.

David's right hand rested on Hook's left bicep and his left still clutched the sword that lay underneath where he lay, this was going to be awkward.

"OK, I think I've strengthened the bond but you still need to be careful and make sure he keeps hold of that sword, it's their only form of weapon"

"I'm gonna need some help, I need that other bed brought over." Whale looked up frantically as he still tried unsuccessfully to see the side of David's face.

Emma and Henry grabbed the other bed and wheeled at around the bottom of Hook's which Whale shoved slightly to put at an angle so the new bed could be slid into the space in front of the window. It was a tight squeeze but they finally got it into place with the heads of both beds touching and the feet slightly apart so that Whale could stand between the two and work on both men. The Doctor moved quickly again working around David, he slid his arm under Hook's back and hauled him towards the side of the mattress stopping at the very edge so that he was as close to the other bed as possible.

"OK, I'm going to need to support David's head and neck as we move, the rest of you need to lift him and twist at the same time, the end goal is to have him on his back slightly further down the bed than would be usual but he needs to still be able to keep his hand on the Pirate."

It was awkward as hell, Whale had not been wrong but eventually David was lowered down onto the other bed with his right hand still locked on Hook's arm and his sword still clutched in his left but Whale paid to attention to either appendage he went straight for David's head clamping a dressing to the gushing wound.

"This is messy, looks like blunt force trauma. I'm going to have to get a CT scan done as soon as I can free him from Hook. I just hope to hell that doesn't take too long"

Emma pulled her Mom into a tight hug as they both stood not believing what was happening. Whale taped a fresh dressing over the wound then gingerly put David into a neck brace before he moved to peel back his eyelids one at a time flashing a light in each one to check David's pupil response.

Emma didn't think anything could get any worse, things were bad enough but right as Whale was just starting to set up another heart rate monitor for her Dad, Hook's went mad again. She turned quickly stepping out of her Mom's embrace to see if there were any fresh wounds but she never got the chance to check as a blinding white light suddenly lit up the room. Emma squinted against it trying to see where it was coming from and she soon realized that it was coming from Hook's hook, the light got brighter and brighter to the point that it was almost blinding but what happened next had Emma's blood running cold as Hook suddenly screamed out into the room and his back arched high up off the bed.

"What the hell is going on?" Emma yelled over to Regina

Regina called back in a loud voice "I think Hook has started the process, my guess would be that he's manage to stick that hook of his into Morpheus but unless David is awake he won't be able to finish it, he can't say the enchantment in that state. Whale is David likely to be conscious?"

"I don't know, it's hard to tell, head wounds are not predictable" Whale shouted over Hook's continuing screams.

"Can you wake him?" Emma yelled out as she moved to her Pirate's side.

"I can try" Whale yelled back and then he was moving again, he pressed yet another hypodermic into her Pirate's arm then stood back to watch his face but there was no change, he just continued to cry out in pain.

"I can't wake him, it's no use... we can only hope that he wakes by himself" Whale shouted out

Emma couldn't take it anymore, and even when Hook finally stopped screaming she knew that it was still not over. She knew she couldn't just wait to see if this would be fixed by her Dad who may not even be conscious anymore so she made her decision, she needed to end this now before she lost both of them.

Emma looked to her side to see the bottle of potion sitting on the bedside table where it had been left after David had used it. She glanced to see what the others were doing but no one was looking at her. She casually walked around the bottom of the bed to come up on Hook's other side right next to where the potion lay, she hooked the nearest chair with her foot and dragged it over towards herself dropping down into it with a sigh.

Whale was back to setting up the heart rate monitor for her Dad again and Emma was glad it was not her being attached to it as her heart thumped in her chest. She took one last look at her Mom standing over her Dad, at Regina who stood hugging a very worried looking Henry and at Robin and Belle who stood over by the door obviously trying to stay out of the way. Robin met her gaze and gave a small smile but she couldn't smile back, not when she knew that what she was about to do could very well be suicide but she had to try, she had to try and save both her Dad and Hook, she couldn't lose either of them, she had lost too many already.

She made her move, in one swift motion she grabbed the bottle and uncorked it. It had a strange sensation as it touched her skin but she didn't stop to ponder it, she just put the bottle back on the side, pulled in a deep breath then lent forward.

"I'm coming, don't give up."

She didn't even look back into the room as she heard the others calling her name she just moved her hand to clutch onto Hook's right bicep. The minute she made contact she was gone slumping forward onto the bed in a heap, no longer in this world as every sensation seemed to hit her all at once. It was strange, she could feel Hook but she could also feel her Dad, she could feel how he felt for her and it brought tears to her eyes to know that her Dad loved her as much as he did but the tears of joy turned to tears of anguish as Hook's turmoil took over, she could hear him screaming again but this time she knew why as she was hit again by another jolt of emotions.

Then Emma was lying on the ground panting harshly, the sensation was beyond strange as all the emotions pulled at her but she clung to her hope, she was after all the daughter of Snow White so she wouldn't let that go. She managed to drag herself up into a sitting position trying to ignore the nausea that was making her head spin and looked about wildly, eyes falling on her Dad in an instant.

"Dad!" She yelled scrambling forward to his side letting out a huge sigh of relief when he gave a groan and his eyes fluttered open.

"Emma?!" he looked confused but then he was suddenly trying to fight her off as he yelled "Get off of me, you're not here, you're not Emma, get away from me"

"Dad, it's me. I used the potion on myself, I promise. Stop, if you just stop and think about it, you will feel that it's true, I can feel you so you must be able to feel me" Emma pleaded with him just hoping that he did what she asked.

His eyes narrowed in disbelief but she knew he had listened as she watched him and she saw the minute he realized that she was telling the truth. Then he was trying to move back towards her, pulling her into his embrace, holding his tightly to his front like he hadn't seen her n years but the hug didn't last as David suddenly gave a gasp at something he was seeing over her shoulder.

"Emma, you need to help Hook" he cried out as he pulled out of the hug, Emma spun around to see her worst fears coming true, Hook was slumped over on his side with his hook firmly wedged in what looked like a duplicate copy of David, the same bright white light that she had witnessed in the hospital was spilling out of Morpheus and neither the Man nor the God looked like they were able to free themselves. Emma turned back to her Dad about to ask for the seal but he already held it up along with a scrap of paper which held the enchantment.

"GO" he yelled at her and that was all the encouragement she needed.

It was about to finally be over, she was finally going to put this damn God back in his stupid, stupid poppy seal. Emma scrambled to her feet and staggered to where Hook still lay, he no longer seemed capable of screaming but a long groan left him instead which somehow seemed worse.

This was it... Emma held the seal tightly in her hand as she finally read the enchantment out loud.

"Adiuro te signaculum nunquam dimisit plus nocet, ut ab hac die lignantur moderante Thanatos"

Emma just prayed that her Latin pronunciation was up to scratch but no sooner had she finished the last word that the seal hummed in her hand then sent out the same bright blinding light as Hook's hook, the light arched high in the sky and came down to connect with Morpheus and she could feel the magic working as he started to be sucked right back where he belonged.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooo" Morpheus screamed out as he slowly changed back into what Emma assumed was his original form but she didn't care about him, she only cared about Hook as it became clear that she had made a mistake, a huge one. She watched in horror as the light engulfed Hook too, he was caught up in the enchantment, unable to remove his hook from the God's shoulder he too was being sucked into the poppy right along with Morpheus.

"HOOK... GOD, NO PLEASE... WHAT HAVE I DONE?"


	25. Chapter 25

**Sorry for the lack of updates but life had got super busy...**

 **Here's the next installment for all of you to devour :)**

 **Questus Domi, Getting Home**

"HOOK... GOD, NO PLEASE... WHAT HAVE I DONE?"

Emma's voice carried across the clearing to where David still lay on the ground battling against his spinning world but her words had him struggling to sit up, he needed to see what was going on, what had she done?

The sight before him had his jaw falling open as he saw both Morpheus and Hook in a long elongated version of themselves slowly being drawn into Morpheus' poppy that Emma still clutched in her hands. David rolled to his side and dragged himself to his knees looking to the skies above.

"This can't be happening, why can't anything be easy? Just for once, is that too much to ask?"

Getting to his feet was not easy but he grabbed his sword and was stumbling his way across the clearing before his body had a chance to refuse the move. A wind had picked up, debris flew all around him making it difficult to see where he was going and he fell with a grunt to his knees about half way across as his world spun again but he knew he couldn't stop, if he did they were all done for, none of them would ever get home so he pulled himself up again and carried on towards his goal.

He practically fell the rest of the way but somehow he got where he needed to be, wasting no time he readied himself, this was going to be tough but he had no choice, it had to be done so with that thought in mind David raised his sword. He'd have to careful not to hit Hook but he was running out of time fast as the God and the Pirate gave another scream of agony as they edged closer to the seal.

It was now or never.

David thrust his sword forward sticking it straight through the God's torso and in an instant he knew why Hook was screaming as he was hit by the same wave of emotions and visions but it seemed that the potion he had used to lessen the effect of touching Hook was having the same effect with the God, it was still bad but not nearly as bad as it must be for the Pirate who had been attached to Morpheus for too long already.

Morpheus screamed out again as the blade passed through him but David didn't care, he let go of the sword leaving it in place, sticking out of the God's back and he moved towards Hook.

"Hold on, I'm going to get you free" he yelled out but the Pirate couldn't hear him, David wasn't sure if he was aware of anything other than the all consuming agony he seemed to be in but he needed Hook to know that he wasn't alone, David was there as he had promised he would be.

"DAD!" Emma screamed "HURRY... I CAN FEEL IT WORKING, IT'S NEARLY DONE, YOU NEED TO FREE HIM BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE"

David took one last look at his Daughter then looked back at Hook in front of him, in one swift move he grabbed hold of the Pirate's hook with the intention to tug it free but the pain was unbearable and suddenly David's screams filled the clearing too as his hand felt like it was fusing to the impossibly hot metal. As much as it hurt he didn't let go, he knew he had to do this to save his family so he grit his teeth and yanked with all his might and that was the last he knew as both he and the Pirate slumped to the ground, unaware of the God finally disappearing back into his poppy. The clearing went form chaos to stillness in a split second as the poppy gave an audible pop when it sealed itself almost as it was determined not to let it's occupant escape ever again.

 **ONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIME**

The silence was almost worse that the noise that had proceeded it as Emma stood breathing heavily into the darkness. Now that the blinding light was gone she couldn't see.

God, she needed to see.

"DAD? HOOK?" she called out hoping that either one would answer but all she could hear was her own heartbeat as it invaded her ears.

"Damn it, don't do this to me, would one of you please answer me?" tears were threatening to fall again as her chested hitched with fear.

Emma shoved the poppy seal into her jeans pocket as she searched frantically to find her cell wanting to use the flashlight but a groan in the darkness had her squinting her eyes trying in vain to see.

"Hook... are you alright?" she knew he wasn't but what else was she supposed to say?

"Swan?" he mumbled in reply but his voice was muffled and low, she needed the light damn it.

Just then another voice spoke and she froze and her heart leapt when she realized it was Whale, Hook must be semi conscious, this was a good sign.

"I'm going to try giving him some more adrenaline, I don't know what else I can do. He seems to be close to waking but unable to do so. We need to get them back, Mary-Margaret can you hit the call button, I need help in here, I can't deal with all three of them by myself"

What was Whale talking about? He only had to deal with two of them, she was fine, she didn't need help!

She didn't have time to ponder her thought when the clearing suddenly flicked from darkness to light as Hook's hospital room appeared but it didn't last, she was back again, standing in the darkness once more. Damn it, she needed to help wake Hook up, it was their only way back. Now that her eyes had had time to adjust she could make out her Dad and her Pirate lying a short distance away and she was on her knees between the two of them in an instant giving up hope of finding her cell, she must have dropped it somewhere.

Emma glanced at her Dad but she knew there was nothing she could do for him, he would only get the help he needed when they were back in Storybrooke so she moved her attention back to Hook who had fallen quiet again. He lay face down with his left arm jammed underneath him and his bandage clad right arm lying at an odd angle next to him.

"Hook, come on, you need to wake up" She laid her hand gently on his back which made him flinch "Hey, it's OK, it's me"

But she could feel Hook shaking beneath her hands, he didn't know what to believe so she used the same trick as she had with her Dad.

"Feel me Killian, I can feel you so I know you can feel me. It's OK, It's really me" she brought her hand up to the back of his neck and rubbed gently until she felt him relax as the realization that she was real hit him.

"Where is... Morpheus?" He gasped out and his body gave an involuntary shiver.

"He's gone, for good this time I promise" she whispered trying to sound as positive as possible under the circumstances

"Swan... your Father... is he alright?" Hook suddenly gasped as the thought seemed to hit him then he was trying to move but he couldn't do it, obviously having no strength left he just fell back into the earth with a whimper.

"He'll be fine but you need to wake up" she replied as she scooted around to his other side so he could see her. The small part of his face that she could make out in the dim light looked very pale as he lay shivering against the cold, Emma had nothing to use to warm him and she knew that if he didn't wake soon the low temperature would start to effect him, God, she felt cold and she had clothes on, he just had pajama pants and some bandages to try and fight the elements. He peeked an eye open and gave a sigh before finally speaking again.

"I don't know how love, I have tried already with no success"

"That was before, Morpheus is gone now, try again, Whale gave you more adrenalin and you so nearly woke up. I saw your room back at the hospital for like a split second but then it was gone and I was back here, you can do this, I know you can."

Emma watched as he scrunched his face up in concentration but nothing happened, then he took on a puzzled look as he obviously searched his mind for a solution to their problem and eventually he opened his eyes and looked at her sighing heavily again.

"Turn me over"

"What? Why?" Emma gasped

"Pain... it is the only thing I can think of that would bring me round." and he gave another groan as he tried to move himself obviously not prepared to wait for Emma's assistance.

"Wait, you're going to hurt yourself"

"Isn't that kind of the point Love?" he gave a chuckle but it turned into a gasp that left him trying to curl in on himself as he gave another low groan but it seemed to work as the darkness got brighter for a second and that was enough for Emma to believe that this crazy idea might actually work. She scooted behind him to be able to use his own body as leverage, she didn't really know what to touch, she knew that he was right, this would probably work but her natural instinct was to cause as little pain as possible not more.

"You ready?"

He just gave a tight nod as he clamped his eyes shut and she didn't know if it was from pain he was already feeling or if it was in anticipation of what was still to come but in the end it would make no difference so she put one hand on his right shoulder, one hand on his knee and pulled...

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" the cry echoed out around her and in an instant it was too bright, there was so much noise, there were hands were on her poking and prodding and that's when she felt it... a searing pain in her left arm, what the hell?.

"Get her on that gurney, you and you see to Miss Swan. You and you I need a CT scan of his head as soon as you have dressed that hand and you with me, we have work to do" Whale's voice carried across the room as Emma was moved onto the gurney and wheeled slightly further back to give the other's space to work

Emma was confused, what had happened? Why did her arm hurt?

She managed to open her eyes to look down at herself and was shocked to see what looked like part of a tree branch sticking out of her arm.

"The hell?" she burst out trying to sit herself up but two nurses pushed her back down and seconds later they had cut off the sleeve from her top as they tried to see what damage had been done.

"Emma" Mary-Margaret cried out coming up to her side "What happened?"

"Are they OK?" Emma asked ignoring her Mom's question trying to look over to the other two beds.

"I don't know" Mary-Margaret whispered as tears spilled down her face "Emma, are you OK? Is Morpheus gone?"

"I'm OK Mom and yeah, he's gone, for good this time."

"Where's the seal?" Regina appeared by her side and Emma briefly wondered where she had come from but then she thought about Henry and she was struggling against the nurses again.

"Where's Henry?" she gasped out

"Relax Swan, he's in the waiting room with Belle and Robin, I didn't want him seeing this" Regina replied

Emma gave a huge sigh as she fell back on her pillows in relief closing her eyes against the bright artificial light.

"Emma, where is the seal? Please tell me you brought it back with you" Regina's voice was low but Emma could tell she was worried.

"I'm not a complete idiot" Emma grumbled as she tried to dig her hand into her pocket to get the poppy but she hissed again bringing her hand up so she could see what had caused the pain.

"Emma! Your hands are burnt, what happened?" Mary-Margaret was back to panic mode again, eyes wide and frantic.

"Must have been the seal, it got pretty hot. I'm fine Mom."

Mary-Margaret looked like she was about to say something else but just then the nurses working on David suddenly started moving the bed towards the door.

"Go" Emma encouraged her Mom as she looked torn between going with David and staying by Emma's side, Mary-Margaret lent over and kissed Emma on the forehead.

"I'll be back soon, I promise" Her Mom gave her a watery smile then she was gone leaving Emma with Regina and the nurses

"You are going to need surgery for this, it's in pretty deep but I'm afraid it will have to wait until we know what is happening with the others, they will take priority." one of the nurses spoke to Emma but her eyes were still following her parents as they left the room.

"Can you find out what's happening with Hook?" she suddenly asked looking the nurse in the eyes "Please I need to know if he's OK?"

The nurse gave her a small smile as she taped a dressing over Emma's bloody wound "Sure, hang on, I'll be back in a sec"

Emma watched as the nurse walked away but Regina spoke drawing her attention away.

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it... not now. I need to know that they are alright. Please Regina not yet... I can't deal with any more" a sob escaped her as her chest hitched, she so did not want to do this right now

"He'll be fine, I'm sure of it." Regina whispered

"And what if he's not? And what about David? God, I can't take this anymore Regina. What did I do? He was stuck but I didn't see then my Dad, he freed him but then he wasn't moving, please make this OK, I can't lose them. Please I just want them to be OK"

There was no holding back anymore, Emma wailed hysterically trying to hug herself to gain some sort of comfort but she suddenly found herself pulled into Regina's embrace and if she'd had time to think about it she probably would have laughed at the thought but right here right now it was what she needed, Regina was there for her and she wasn't alone.


	26. Chapter 26

**Here is the next installment of my tale, will everyone be OK?**

 **Let's find out**

 **Reviews have really dropped off so if you like what I am doing please please please let me know.**

 **Adhuc Opus Facere, Still Work To Do**

Too much to do... too much needing done, what should he going to do first?

Victor glanced over to the other bed as the ruckus on the other side of the room took his attention away from the Pirate in front of him. He could see the sheriff being forced back onto the bed by one of his nurses, that woman was going to be then death of him, her and her band of hero types!

He moved his attention back to his own patient who for the time being was being compliant, well as compliant as any half conscious man in extreme pain could be and at that very thought the heart rate monitor by Hook's side gave a warning sound and the Pirate started gasping and choking as he tried to take in air without too much success.

"Hook, calm your breathing down, take deep breaths, I know it hurts but you still need to do it. I'll get you something for the pain soon but you need to keep breathing"

But Hook shook him head as he screwed up his eyes and he continued writhing around on the bed.

"Can't" he gasped "Can't... breathe... too much... pain"

Victor grabbed his stethoscope and was immediately listening to Hook's chest, the noises he could hear worried him but he didn't want to let the Pirate know so he walked to the nearest nurse and turned his back to the Pirate to whisper to her.

"I've got reduced respiration in the right upper quadrant, can you arrange a chest x-ray? I'm going to have to open him up again, I want to see what's going on as soon as possible but I'm pretty sure the tear in his diaphragm has opened again and there is a real possibility of damage from a rib too. He has a lot of fresh bruising down that side that I'm not happy with. Keep things calm, we don't need anyone panicking so just leave quietly with no fuss but hurry"

The nurse nodded and immediately left the room walking with a broad smile on her face so the others would not be suspicious while Victor went back to the still struggling Pirate to check the rest of him over but Hook seemed really unsettled now and he kept trying to raise his left arm off the bed but every time he tried he groaned loudly letting it fall back onto the blankets only to try again a few seconds later... Strange.

"Does your arm hurt?" he asked while trying to see any obvious signs of damage but he was coming up with nothing and Hook wasn't answering anymore as he still struggled with his breathing. Victor looked closely at the limb but there were no obvious breaks that he could see, maybe the pain was still coming from his shoulder? He made a mental note to check it out once the Pirate was sedated and his hook had been removed again but in he mean time he had other things to check over.

Victor was vaguely aware that one the nurses that had been attending Miss Swan had walked across the room and was watching him as he worked obviously not wanting to interrupt but when he looked up and met her gaze she finally spoke.

"How's he doing?"

"Not good, there is no news here that will soothe Miss Swan so if I were you I would just make up some flowery crap to keep her happy" he snapped then regretted it straight away when he looked at her shocked face, he sighed "Sorry but as you can tell it's been a tough day"

The nurse gave him a smile and looked like she was about to ask something else but right then Hook gave another long groan, Victor looked away from her and if she spoke again he never heard it being more interested in saving the Pirate than relaying information to his girlfriend!

"Hook, what's going on? What hurts?" He asked urgently coming further up the bed so he could see the Pirate's face more easily.

"Every... thing... He is... gone... put... me... to...sleep" Hook gasped in reply as the Pirate managed to lock eyes with him and the pleading look he gave almost had Victor doing as he asked but he knew he couldn't, not just yet, he needed as much information as possible first.

"In a minute I promise but I need to know what hurts, come on the sooner you tell me the sooner you can sleep"

"Nnnnnnnnnnnnggggggghhhhhhh... please" was the only reply that the Pirate gave as he tried again to curl in on himself but this time the move seemed to cause more pain than before as Hook suddenly froze with his eyes wide and his mouth fell open in a silent scream.

"Hook... Hook! What's wrong?" Whale didn't like the look of this as the Pirate lay rigid on the bed and when he finally pulled in a rasping breath the room turned into chaos as all the machines started sounding at once.

"Hook, look at me... Hook, open your damn eyes" Whale grit out tapping the Pirate's cheek to try and draw his attention but that wasn't working now either, damn it.

"I'm going to put an oxygen mask on you OK? Just try and take some deep breaths and I promise I will let you sleep soon but you need to talk to me, tell me what hurts"

Hook clamped his eyes shut again as his head tipped back on his pillows and his back arched slightly from the bed. Victor thought for a second that he was going to have to just go on guess work and finally put the Pirate out of his misery but Hook came through as he suddenly started reeling off his ailments.

"Head... really bad... headache."

"Arm... feels like fire."

"Chest... can't breathe... Gods... it's too... much... too painful... to breathe" He gave a rasping cough and this seemed to be the end of his ability to speak as he lay gasping again.

Victor brought the oxygen mask over Hook's head and settled it over his mouth but it seemed to make little difference, there was definitely something else going on inside the Pirate's chest. He turned back to the nurse that had come over from helping Emma, he needed her help so he lowered his voice but spoke urgently

"I need a free theater NOW, I don't care how you do it just make it happen, I want his x-ray done in the next ten minutes then the theater needs to be ready to go and I hope you didn't plan on going home anytime soon because this is going to take a while"

"Wouldn't miss this for the world, I'll go and let Emma know that he will be going soon and don't worry, I'll make it flowery" she gave him a kind smile and squeezed his arm "You can do this Doctor Whale, I know you can"

He watched as she walked away again towards Emma who was currently being hugged by the Evil Queen! OK, that was new... He just hoped that the nurse was right, everyone was counting on him yet again... God, he needed a drink!

"Swan?" Hook's voice cut into his thoughts and he was back by the Pirate's side in a second.

"She's fine Hook, she's just over there with Regina. We are about to take you to theater now, you will probably be asleep for a good few days so do you want to see her? I can bring her over so you can say goodnight"

Hook nodded his head but never opened his eyes, he seemed to be loosing steam fast but Whale knew that he needed to let them do this for both of them not just Hook, if he couldn't save the Pirate he wanted to make sure they had a chance to say goodbye.

"OK, hang on, I'll go get her"

Whale moved quickly over to the other bed just as the nurse was leaving to follow out his previous instructions giving him a meaningful look as she went.

"Miss Swan, we are about to take Hook for his x-ray now then we will go straight down to theater but he would like to see you before he goes"

He hadn't even finished speaking before she was hauling herself from the bed but he stepped in her way with his hands up, he needed to speak to her first.

"Stop, hang on just a second." she seemed to sense that it was important that she listen to him when she stopped to sit on the side of the bed without argument "He is very weak Miss Swan, he is having problems breathing and is in a lot of pain. Make this short and sweet we don't have a lot of time to waste but you need to do this, make sure he knows you are here for him"

He didn't emphasize his reasoning but she seemed to understand why he wanted her to speak to him as she gave a short nod then hopped off the bed. He stood back and let her go by herself, this was a private moment after all, he didn't want to get in the way of what could be their last conversation.

"What's his chances?" The Mayor's voice beside him didn't surprise him nor did it bring the fear that it used to, not anymore, neither of them were the same people they used to be.

"Honestly, I wouldn't even like to put odds on it" he said with a sigh before he turned to meet her gaze "He's got a lot going on, he was already weak from his previous injuries and I just don't know how much more his body can take, I'm not even sure how he is still conscious after what he's been through."

"He's a Pirate, for more years than all of us put together he has sailed the seas with only his pig headed determination to get him through, don't give up on him yet. If he managed to survive all that time for a lost love just imagine what he can do for one that is still here"

The Queen was right, by normal standards this man should be dead already but he wasn't, he was still here beating the odds, still fighting. Victor turned to the Queen with a frown.

"Since when did you become so sentimental?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Since I realized that revenge doesn't bring you happiness, love does and he has found that with Emma" she raised an eyebrow at him then added "BUT if you let him die I will reconsider my new stance, we need him alive so get to work, my magic may not work on him but it will work on you, be warned!"

He wasn't sure if she was joking or not as she raised her eyebrow even higher at his nervous laugh so he just walked quickly back to the other bed, it would appear that the formal Evil Queen could still scare him with just one look. Emma was leaning over her Pirate soothing him and Victor could just about make out what she was saying as she whispered in his ear.

"You're going to be just fine, you hear me? And I will be waiting for you when you come back. Morpheus is gone Killian so no more bad dreams, you can relax and no one is going to hurt you anymore. Take your time and sleep for as long as you need, I'm not going anywhere."

Hook looked incapable of answering her now, he had broken out into a sweat with the effort of just trying to draw in air as his chest heaved in and out, breathing shouldn't be this hard, they needed to move. Victor came up quickly to Hook's side as Emma bent forward to kiss the Pirate's forehead.

"Excuse me Miss Swan but we need to go now, I'm really sorry but it's time" he tried to stay calm, he didn't want to worry her anymore than necessary but the monitor by Hook's side sending out another alarm defied his intentions.

"What's going on? Why is that making that noise?" she asked frantically looking at the monitor.

"That is why we need to go now, he is struggling to breathe Miss Swan I need you to step aside so we can get him the help he needs" it was all he was willing to say, he was not about to yell at her to get out of the way because if she didn't the man she loved may very well die, that would only cause more panic so instead he just disengaged the brakes on the bed and started to move.

This damned Pirate better not die, the last thing he needed was the Evil Queen and the two town sheriffs thinking he hadn't done enough to help their friend. He gave one last look back over his shoulder as he pushed the bed through the doors to see both women watching him.

"Thanks Whale" Emma called and she gave a small smile as he left.

It was just what he needed, she believed in him and if Emma had confidence in him that was enough, he was part of the team and he was not going to let her down. With renewed vigor he started off down the corridor toward x-ray shouting loudly at the group of people in his way.

"Out of the way people, hero Pirate coming through"

 **ONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIME**

The waiting was torture as Mary-Margaret sat outside the room that they had wheeled David into about an hour before, what was taking so long? She didn't have a clue what was going on with anyone and she was so worried, heck, she didn't even know what was happening with David and he was just on the other side of the door that she was still staring at.

She missed their link, they had only had it a few days but it had become so normal in that time that now Regina had taken David's heart and the link was gone Mary-Margaret felt it like an open wound. She was just considering calling Regina to find out what was happening with the rest of her family when the doors to the CT room opened and David was pushed back out.

Mary-Margaret practically ran over to the moving bed but one of the nurses stepped in her way.

"Woah, just hang on a second."

"What? Why? What's wrong?" Her heart thumped in her chest, this was bad news she just knew it.

"Nothing too bad I promise, his scan came back clear BUT we still need to stitch the wound so just be careful and also be aware that he has a burnt hand so don't hold that one. We are just going to take him to a treatment room now and you can sit with him while we work but he is still unconscious so I'm afraid you'll only have us for conversation" the nurse gave her a sympathetic smile as she stepped to the side to reveal David on the bed.

There was a large dressing taped across the right hand side of his head which covered a lot of his face and she tried hard to hold back the tears at the sight of him, he just looked so fragile and pale against the white sheets that her heart clenched in sympathy. Before she knew it they had moved from the corridor and she was settling onto a chair next to David's bed in one of the treatment rooms as the two nurses got to work but all she wanted was her husband to wake up and tell her he was alright.

They were done in no time at all and as the nurse stepped back Mary-Margaret was happy to see that there was a much smaller dressing over the wound now and she could see David's face much better. He was still very pale still but at least now she would be able see if he opened his eyes.

"You OK?" one of the nurses asked surprising her, she hadn't been paying attention to what they were doing so hadn't expected them to speak to her.

"I'm fine" she replied automatically

"Well that's a lie" the nurse said with a smirk "If I were you I'd be going crazy right now. Do you want me to find out how your Daughter is doing?"

"Yes please" Mary-Margaret blurted out quickly "and Hook too if you can"

"I'll see what I can do but no promises, I'll be back in a few minutes. Talk to him, it might help bring him round" the nurse smiled sweetly at her

"Thank you" she smiled back then she was left by herself as the two nurses walked from the room.

Mary-Margaret looked back at David and scooted forward on her seat so that she could reach his uninjured hand taking it gently into hers.

"I need you to wake up David, I can't do this all by myself. Emma is going to need us both and that Pirate of hers is going to need us all to get him through. What happened David? Please, I just need you to be alright"

The tears were flowing now as she sobbed by his bedside, why had this happened? Was it not bad enough what they had already gone through in that cave? She had been so worried when he had been missing then he had been back and he had been OK but now he was worse than ever, how had it come to this?

"David, please wake up" she finally whispered but he didn't move a muscle and she was left sitting in silence again until she composed herself.

Mary-Margaret sighed "You're going to make me wait aren't you? Is this amusing you, me sitting here looking like a blotchy ogre? I must be a sight"

"A sight worth seeing" David mumbled quietly but he didn't move, had she just imagined it?

Mary-Margaret's heart leapt into her throat and she was on her feet in seconds taking his hand in hers again as David slowly opened his eyes to look up at her.

"David?!"

"I'm OK" he breathed out shutting his eyes again furrowing his brow in obvious discomfort.

"David don't go back to sleep, please don't go back to sleep. I need you" she whispered

"I'm not going anywhere" he opened his eyes again and squeezed her hand "Not until I know that my family is alright, now where is Emma and what is happening with Hook?"

And with that she knew he was going to be alright, he was still David, he was still her Prince Charming always putting his family first, yes, they were going to be just fine.


	27. Chapter 27

**So we are nearly at the end of this fic, this makes me sad but happy at the same time.**

 **I do plan to write more but may have to take a wee break as life has got busy again but if you would like to give some suggestions of stories I will see what my brain can come up with for you guys.**

 **Re Reprehendo, Reality Check**

David woke early immediately looking to his left to find the Pirate as he had been when he had fallen asleep the night before. He sighed and pulled himself up into a sitting position throwing back his blankets and heading over to the other bed. It had been six days since he had been admitted and Hook had still to wake even though his heart had been returned and his sedation medication had been withdrawn two days earlier.

"Come on Hook you need to wake up. Emma will be here soon and you cannot spend yet another day sleeping, this is killing her"

But the Pirate never moved he just carried on sleeping completely oblivious to the worry he was causing Emma. She had been discharged three days before after having her wound cleaned and stitched but she was currently sporting a plush sling that she had threatened on more than one occasion to throw away but her Mother's nagging seemed to be preventing her following through on the threat... for now!

The door opening behind him had David turning to see Whale bustling into the room.

"Any change?" the Doc asked hopefully

"Nope" David replied turning back to the bed with another sigh "How long is this likely to last?"

"No idea, there's nothing medically stopping him from waking now, it's all up to him but he has been through a lot, mentally and physically so normal rules don't really apply. I have no idea what is going on inside his head but... it may be that he just can't face reality and there is nothing I can do about that"

"What?!" David gasped looking back to the Doctor "Are you saying that he may not wake up?"

"David I wish I knew, I really do but sometimes after traumatic experiences the brain just tries to protect itself and the result is similar to what we are seeing here"

David couldn't believe it, after all Hook had been through had he really given up now? He watched as Whale did his checks writing notes on the Pirate's chart before turning back to David with a sigh of his own.

"Don't give up on him, he's been through a lot. He may just need more time"

"I know, I won't... none of us will but right now I'm going to have a shower before the others get here, I think Emma is bringing in Henry today and I want to look a bit fresher than I feel, that boy has enough to worry about with Hook, I don't want him worrying about me too" David said as he walked towards the bathroom

"I'll come back in a few hours and check Hook's vitals again, keep your fingers crossed" Whale called after him

"Yeah, 'cause crossing my fingers will make all the difference" David muttered to himself as he closed the bathroom door behind himself

He felt useless again, all any of them could do was wait and see if Hook was going to wake up but as he was soothing his aching muscles beneath the hot water a sudden thought hit him. What if there was a way to help? Maybe there was something he could do, maybe there was a way to help the Pirate after all. With a smirk he turned off the water and grabbed his towel, he needed to make a few phone calls.

Half an hour later Regina was mixing another potion as he stood watching full of nerves

"You really think this could work?" he asked hopefully

"I don't see why not, I just need to make a few adjustments and we should be good to go. What time are the others likely to get here?"

"About an hour, I called Mary-Margaret to tell her my plan so she is taking Emma and Henry for breakfast at Granny's to buy us some time"

"Good, that should be plenty of time to see if the Pirate is home. Right, this is done. Are you ready?" Regina said lifting up the vile in her hand and giving it one final shake

"As I'll ever be" David replied as he moved over to Hook's bedside and sat himself down

"OK, you need to drop some of original potion onto the palm of your hand the same as before but this time you can wake yourself up by pressing the same spot with your thumb once I've added this"

Regina took hold of David's hand and dropped a few spots of the newly mixed bright red liquid onto his thumb.

"There, you are ready."

"Thanks" David said quickly as he dropped a few more drops of the original yellow potion onto his other hand, it would seem that he needed a boost after the first dose seemed to be wearing off, he had been feeling Mary-Margaret less and less over the last few days.

He braced himself for the hit of emotion that he had felt the last time from Mary-Margaret but it seemed that Regina's adjustment she had made the last time he ventured into Hook's dreams had helped with that particular side effect but he still felt the familiar jolt of love that he had grown so used to recently. He grinned to himself feeling her joy at having him back with her.

"OK, I'm going in. I really hope this works"

"Good luck" Regina gave him such a sincere look that he wondered for a minute if she was in fact warming to the Pirate but he didn't have time to think about it too long as he reached forward to grasp Hook's arm.

The next he knew he was standing on the deck of the Jolly Roger, the weather was horrid with torrential rain and a howling gale. The ship bobbed on up and down and the sea water sprayed high up into the air but there was no sign the Captain? David headed up to the quarter deck to get a better view but when he looked around he still couldn't see the Pirate anywhere.

"HOOK... WHERE ARE YOU?" He shouted but the only sound he heard was the whistling of the wind through the rigging.

Maybe he was below deck in his cabin?

David headed towards the door just behind him and lifted it from the deck to peek inside, it was dark down below and he couldn't see a thing.

"Hook, you in there?" David called out but he knew before he even spoke that he would get no answer, something wasn't right here.

He was down the steps and standing in the cabin in seconds but there was still no sign of Hook, where was he? There was only one thing for it, he'd have to search systematically through every room. He headed out of the door to the lower decks and entered the galley, then the bunk room but still found no sign. That left only the hold, surely he wouldn't be in there?!

He pulled back the hatch and peered down inside.

"Hook?" he called out again but all that came back was the sound of the waves on the ancient timbers that surrounded him, where the hell was Hook? This was his dream he had to be here somewhere.

He was just about to close the hatch again when he thought he heard a noise, was he down there after all?

"Hook, is that you?" he called again as he swung his leg over the edge and started down the ladder squinting into the darkness.

There in the corner, was that really Hook? David's feet hit the floor and he cautiously made his way across to the Pirate. As he got closer he could see the man slumped against the hull in his full Pirate gear seemingly asleep.

"Hook... come on, wake up" he knelt down beside him but kept his voice low knowing the reaction that the Pirate had given previously to loud voices

"Not sleeping... but you already knew that didn't you? How did you manage it this time?" Hook spoke slowly, he wasn't making sense and he sounded so tired but more than that, he sounded like he had given up, like he had no energy left to fight.

"What? How did I manage what?" David asked in confusion

"To escape" Hook peeled an eye open to look at him in the darkness and gave a smirk "I see you have returned to using that face but it's no use, I've been expecting you, I won't be fooled again"

Then David understood, Hook thought that he was Morpheus, had he been hiding here all this time trying to escape a foe that was not returning? Is this why he wasn't waking up? How could he convince him that this was just a dream?

"Morpheus is gone remember, this is just a dream Hook. You need to wake up now, it's been six days since we beat him and Emma is going out of her mind with worry" he wanted to lay a comforting hand on the Pirate but as he moved Hook flinched and he couldn't do it, he just withdrew his hand back to his own knee.

At the mention of Emma's name the Pirate seemed to perk up a bit but he still wore a look of distrust on his face as he spoke.

"How do I know you are not lying? You tricked me before, how do I know you are telling the truth now?"

"You don't but I am telling you the truth. It's going to be tough I won't lie, you are going to hurt like hell but you still need to wake up, please don't let Emma down Hook, she needs you" David just hoped that this tactic worked, "I am not going to hurt you Hook but Emma will be here soon, well at the hospital so if you are going to do this, if you are going to wake up and finally beat this damned God once and for all now is the time to do it but I need to go, Regina is waiting for me"

With that David stepped back, Hook's eyes followed him and just as he was about to press him thumb into the palm of his hand the Pirate spoke softly.

"David... don't leave. What if I can't do it?"

David wanted more than anything to stay but he knew that it was not what Hook needed, he needed to find his own way back, he smirked then chuckled.

"The Captain Hook that I know would find a way, he would not let anything come between him and his love. You clung to your revenge for hundreds of years, find that determination. I know you can do this, find your way back."

With that he pressed his thumb into his palm and woke with a jolt blinking against the bright light in the hospital room.

"David, are you alright?" Regina asked anxiously

"I'm fine" he groaned as he sat himself up, feeling like someone had snapped his spine.

"I was beginning to worry, you've been gone over an hour"

"What? That can't be right, I was only there a few minutes" David stretched his back out trying to work out the kink

"Well in that case it would seem that dream time works differently to real time, I'm just glad you got back before Emma got here, the last thing I need is her thinking she can pay the Pirate a visit, he would never chose to wake up if she could spend time with him there. How was he?"

"He thought I was Morpheus Regina, he's been hiding in his own damned mind just waiting on him showing up again. I think I got through to him but only time will tell, it's up to him now"

David pulled himself to his feet and practically staggered his way back to his own bed, hauling himself back up and under the covers took quite a bit of effort, it would seem that his trip into Hook's mind had taken it's toll on his already tired body.

"Well I hope it was worth it, now if you don't mind I am going to leave before the others arrive. Let me know if anything happens" Regina stepped back from the bed and before he had even had a chance to thank her she was gone in her purple cloud.

He lay back on his pillows and sighed again but no sooner had he closed his eyes than he heard the door open and the whispering of his family as they came in to the room.

"Grandpa's still sleeping" Henry hissed before sighing and whispering "and so is Hook"

"Give him time Henry" Emma whispered back as David opened his eyes to see his Grandson standing at the Pirate's bedside next to Emma

He watched as Henry threw his arms around his Mother and pulled her into a hug just standing staring at the bed but Mary-Margaret's voice at his other side had him turning away.

"Hey"

"Hey yourself" he smiled back looking up at her face and feeling her love surge through him once more.

"Any luck?" she asked

"Any luck with what?" Henry's voice caught them both by surprise

"You're Grandpa was going to ask Dr Whale if he could stop taking his pain medication, you know, see how he got on without it" Mary-Margaret blurted out, it was a complete lie but Henry seemed to buy it.

"And?" the boy asked

"And... he said to give it some time, that I shouldn't just stop taking them. He said that the progress I've made is good and that I should start to feel even better soon" he hoped that Mary-Margaret understood his hidden message but he knew she had when she smiled widely and looked over to the other bed.

Now all they had to do was wait on the Pirate getting his head together, David just hoped it wouldn't take too long as he looked at Emma's heartbroken face, she held the Pirate's hand and spoke gently to him as he continued to sleep. Henry gave another sigh as he too looked at his Mom.

"I hope he wakes up soon"

"Me too Kid, me too"


	28. Chapter 28

**You guys are the best with your kind words, I'm glad that you have all enjoyed my story and as soon as I have time I will start on a new one.**

 **This is probably the last whole chapter that I will do but there will probably be an epilogue to follow just to tie up all the wee ends.**

 **Last chance to get fic ideas to me so I can start working on something soon, send them my way.**

 **Lorem Itineris, Journey Home**

Killian stared at the spot that David had stood in seconds before... until he had disappeared right before his eyes, had that really happened?

Had he been telling the truth?

Was this really just a dream?

Had he really been hiding from Morpheus when he wasn't coming back?

He vaguely remembered David and Emma fighting the God but it was all a bit fuzzy and he had been struggling to figure out if it had really happened or not and it would seem that it had... well according to David anyway... but had it really been David?

He sighed heavily, why did everything have to be so confusing?

If David really was telling the truth he needed to wake up, Swan would be waiting for him but so would the pain that he seemed to finally have managed to escape.

Wait... Why was he not in pain?

He looked down at himself and was surprised to see his Pirate leathers in place, wasn't he in pajama pants and where were the dressings and bandages?

He sat himself up straighter still not feeling any pain and blinked a few times, maybe this was a dream after all. That was all he needed, he pulled himself to his feet and was scrambling his way up on to the deck of the Jolly as quickly as he could. The wind and rain were howling around him as the ship rose and fell with every swell of the ocean but he had an idea. If this was a dream, this was him making this happen. He screwed his eyes shut and concentrated hard, he thought of a bright summers day on a calm blue sea and he knew it had worked before he even opened his eyes as the ship stopped rocking and the bright sunshine warmed his tired bones.

Eyes flying open he grinned like a mad man, it was really over. Now he just had to find a way to wake himself up.

Killian's mind was reeling now, how was he going to do this? Now that he knew that Swan was waiting he didn't want to stay here any longer than he had too, he wanted to go home.

His grin wouldn't leave his face as he looked about him furiously, how was he going to do this?

"I'm coming home Swan, you hear me? I'm coming back for you Love" he screamed out into the air and for a second the sky changed to reveal the hospital ceiling tiles but with it came a pulse of pain that nearly knocked him off his feet. He grit his teeth and clamped his hand around his middle giving a groan but this wouldn't stop him, he knew that David had been real and Emma was waiting for him.

How was he going to do this?

Then it hit him, this TRULY was a dream and the one thing that everybody knows is that you can't die in a dream. Killian grinned again, this was probably the most stupid idea he had every had but for the first time in what felt like forever he felt alive as his heart thumped in his chest and he ran across to the nearest rigging. He looked straight up to see the crows nest high above him and without pausing to question his own sanity he started to climb. It was tricky as the higher he got the more he began to hurt, he gave another groan as his ribs protested the relentless upwards motion but he didn't stop and eventually he hauled himself up on to the small platform to gaze down at the deck below.

"SWAN" he screamed "You better be ready for this"

Then he tried to calm himself down and drew in a breath and whispered.

"This better bloody work or I'm going to be in so much trouble"

He took one last deep breath which he held, he didn't look down he just stepped off the edge.

He was falling but he didn't scream, he just grinned, this had to work, right?

Not once did he doubt that he had done the right thing as the deck got closer and closer then it happened... he was gasping for breath as every part of his body screamed with pain and he thought for a second that he would open his eyes to find his broken body lying on the deck of the Jolly but when he finally managed to focus his mind he could hear her.

Swan was somewhere by his side calling his name but he couldn't concentrate as every part of him screamed in agony and another coughing fit descended on him. He could also hear his heart rate monitor beeping wildly in time with his thumping chest and when Whale brought an oxygen mask over his face unexpectedly he couldn't help it when he jumped in surprise.

"Sorry Hook but you need to take deep breaths. You need to calm down. I will give you something for the pain in a second but you need to calm your breathing down first."

Killian gasped in breath after breath, his chest felt heavy like he couldn't take in a full lungful of air and every breath hurt like hell but eventually he managed to calm himself down and open up his eyes to see his Swan's worried face looking down at him.

"Killian?" her eyes shone with tears as she gripped his hand tightly in hers and he couldn't help himself he just grinned at her, she was beautiful and she was there by his side.

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He had just grinned, that's all he had managed to do once he had breathing back under control, he hadn't said a word but he hadn't needed too, his smile had been enough for her.

Emma couldn't believe that it had finally happened, she had been telling Henry to have patience but in reality she had lost her's days ago and then it had finally happened, Hook had woken up and grinned.

That had been an hour ago, he had only been awake for a few minutes but he had known them all, he had still been himself and she knew deep down that he would wake again, the fear that he wouldn't was gone, this was just normal every day sleep.

"Emma, you OK?" Mary-Margaret's voice broke into her thoughts as a tear tumbled down her cheek

She turned her head and grinned at her Mom, Dad and Son. They stood at the bottom of Hook's bed as Whale worked on Hook's other side and the worried look on her Mom's face disappeared as she realized that Emma was smiling.

"I'm more than OK, he's going to be alright, he woke up" she grinned herself mimicking Hook's previous smile as more tears fell.

David came forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her tight, she lent back into his embrace and gave a contented sigh at being held in her Fathers arms.

"How long 'til you think he'll get out of here?" David asked Whale as the Doctor put Hook's chart back at the end of the bed.

"Well, he's making good progress. His temperature is nearly back to normal, he'll get his stitches out in the next few days and the burn on his arm is healing well. We'll have to see how he is when he fully wakes up which shouldn't take too much longer but all being well I'd say about a week if we can get him eating quickly. He's going to need a lot of help when he leaves, this is not going to be a quick fix by any means."

"That's OK. He's coming to stay with us" Henry beamed

"You betcha Kid, he is not getting out of my sight anytime soon" Emma said with a smirk as her eyes fell back on her Pirate.

His bruises had bled out into varying shades of yellows and browns and he had a bit more color in his cheeks but Whale was right, he had lost a lot of weight. His face had taken on an almost skeletal look as his cheek bones jutted out and she knew that under his covers his ribs were showing too but that was something that could be fixed, something that she could deal with. Whale seemed to have read her mind as he spoke his next words.

"He's going to need a special high calorie diet for a few weeks, we're going to start him on something simple tomorrow then hopefully we can start him with a five small meals a day system until he regains his weight." Whale added as he finished up with Hook's monitors

"Thank you Victor" Mary-Margaret said with a sweet smile

Emma grinned to herself as she felt her Dad tense behind her but the jibe she was about to throw out was forgotten as Hook blinked his eyes open and looked about the room.

"Hook!" she cried as she stepped out of her Father's arms and took up his hand.

"Swan?" he gave a confused look then that grin was back but it didn't last as his eyes quickly fell closed and she thought he had fallen asleep again but he surprised her when he spoke again.

"You really did it? He's really gone?" he tipped his head slightly and opened his impossibly blue eyes again to meet her gaze causing her heart to flutter at the look of utter love he held for her.

"Yeah" she grinned back "he is gone Killian and he's never coming back. Me and my Dad saw to that"

She watched as Hook's gaze moved onto David and his brow furrowed into a sincere look, he licked his lips and sighed.

"It would seem I have a lot to thank you for. Thanks Mate, for everything"

"Forget it, it's what us hero types do." David smirked but Hook didn't smile back he just furrowed his brow further.

"Even so, what you have done, what all of you have done has gone beyond anything I could only ever have hoped for. You all helped me when I needed you and I will be eternally grateful" he said with a sad smile as he looked at each of them in turn.

Mary-Margaret stepped forward "That's because you are family now Hook."

Emma watched in wonder as Hook's eyebrows shot up at her Mom's words, he hadn't been expecting that and he seemed a little uncomfortable at the thought.

"Aye... family" he eventually sighed as he gave a sad smile and let his eyes slide closed once again.

"Hey, that's a good thing you know" Emma chuckled "Don't look so sad about it."

Hook peeked his eyes open again and smiled at her.

"I am happy Love but a family is something I have not had for a very long time, it will take a bit of getting used to again"

The mood had changed and Emma wanted more than anything to turn it around but her mind was frozen, how could she be so stupid? Of course he would be sad when he thought of his family, they were all dead, they had been for a long time and he had been by himself for more years than she cared to guess. She was just about to open her mouth to speak but her Dad saved the day yet again as he spoke beside her.

"Yeah well you better adjust quickly, the loft isn't exactly very big and we're gonna get to know you extremely well over the next few weeks" David said raising his eyebrows high up on his head "and by the way I'm just putting it out there now, I am not doing toilet duties."

Hook gave a hearty laugh that had him clutching at his ribs and gasping but the grin didn't leave his face as he replied

"Mate, you have practically had your hands in my insides and quite literally have been inside my head and you won't do that one simple task? What will you do if there is only the two of us home?" Hook gasped out still grinning.

"I will leave your scrawny butt where it is and Emma can deal with the wet bed sheets later" he laughed in reply

"You'd really leave me?" Hook asked not quite laughing as hard as he had been before.

"You better believe it" David grinned widely but when he seemed to notice Hook's change of mood he gave a slight cough and added "You know that's not true right? I'd get you a bottle to pee in, Mary-Margaret would kill me if I let you wet the bed"

The room was filled with laughter once more and Emma looked around at her family beside her, they had won. Yet again they had defied the odds and beaten the bad guy. She looked back at Hook as he lay back on his pillows still smiling, it was going to be a long journey for her Pirate but they would do it together... all of them, as a family.


	29. Chapter 29

**Well it finally ends * insert sad face here ***

 **Worry not, I shall return.**

 **Here is the ribbon to tie up this tale**

 **Enjoy xx**

 **Domus, home**

A week passed in no time at all and Killian got stronger everyday. Physically he was healing well and had been pleasantly surprised to find that walking unaided had not been as tricky as he had feared it would be with his leg still in that blasted plaster cast when he had just successfully managed to get himself to and from the washroom in the middle of the night without asking David for help.

He lay back on his pillows and looked to his side to see the Prince himself still sleeping soundly in the other bed. David should have been discharged days ago but here he still was unwilling to leave Killian by himself something that Whale didn't even seem to question anymore and if Killian was being honest with himself he was glad.

While his body was healing quickly mentally he was really struggling, nightmares plagued his dreams as faces he thought he knew would turn on him without warning. He kept lurching awake unable to tell reality form the dream world and it left him confused and embarrassed especially when he flinched when anyone made a sudden movement near him. How could he be the fearsome Captain Hook if he jumped every time someone so much as moved?

He sighed again and looked at the clock on the wall to see it was still the middle of the night. He was finally leaving this place in a few hours and even though he was tired beyond words he couldn't sleep, not now. He had woken from yet another nightmare to find tears streaming down his face, he had dreamt of his Mother for what seemed like the millionth time since that damned God had planted her image back in his head but this time it was very unlike the first time he had experienced her return to his mind, this time she brought nothing but torture as she tormented and shouted at him blaming him for Liam's death. He knew none of it was true but it had left him shaken and nervous to return to the dream world in case she was still there, waiting for him.

He was being stupid, he knew that but here he was none the less lying awake unwilling to risk sleep at silly o'clock in the morning.

His eyes fell onto the table across the bottom of his bed to see a small flat gift tied with a ribbon. Where had that come from? He wondered what was inside but didn't have the energy to pull himself forward to reach it after his trip the the bathroom not that long ago.

He'd just have to open it in the morning.

He tried to distract himself with anything but the silence in the room was horrendous, he didn't even have the beat of his heart rate monitor anymore after he had been taken off of it a few days earlier. Gods, this was going to be a long night.

His eyes fell back on the gift and he knew he wasn't going to be able to relax until he found out what it was so he threw back his blankets and hauled himself forward but the table was still too far away. Damn it, he couldn't reach, he was going to have to shuffle further down the bed.

He looked to the side checking to see if David was still asleep which he was, good, the last thing he needed was the Prince telling him he was being an idiot as he swung his legs over the side of the bed where he paused trying to settle his sore ribs. He looked to his left, the table was still too far away and he now realized that shuffling was not going to be an option, he was going to have to stand then walk, grab the gift, throw it back up the bed then return himself before he would be able to open it.

Was this a good idea?

Probably not, he was already really tired as hell but he was more than half way there now so he wasn't going to stop now. With that thought in mind he pulled himself from the bed to stand on his feet but as soon as he was free from the mattress his legs wobbled seemingly unwilling to hold him up any longer and he found himself toppling unceremoniously to the floor where he landed with an oomph.

Every part of him hurt as he lay on the cold tiles trying to get his pain level back under some sort of control. He was very glad that all his lines had been removed the day before, as bad as it was this could have been so much worse if they had still been in place.

He lay for a few minutes trying to hold back the groans of pain that were trying to escape him and eventually his sore body settled enough for him to gather his thoughts but as if all of this wasn't bad enough worse was still to come when few minutes later he realized that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get himself back up off the floor, he was stuck. He had no strength to pull himself back up and to make things worse he was getting cold now as a shiver passed through him.

He was never going to live this down, he was going to be called an idiot in less than a minute but he had no choice, he couldn't lie here until morning, he would have to wake the sleeping Prince.

"David" he called out as his skin broke out into goosebumps and another shiver gripped him but the Prince slept on, if only he'd just stayed where he was this would not be happening right now.

"DAVID" he yelled louder and that seemed to work as he heard movement on the bed above him

"Hook?!" David mumbled then he must have looked at his bed to see it empty as his panicked voice rang out.

"Hook, where are you?"

"Down here Mate, a little assistance if you please" he managed to grit out as his teeth chattered.

"The hell? What happened?"

David was at his side in seconds and his reply was lost as he gasped in pain when David started pulling him to his feet. The Prince wrestled him back onto the bed and covered him back up with his blankets before disappearing from view for a second. Killian barely had time to wonder where he had gone before he was back with another blanket which he threw over the top of his normal ones. Killian closed his eyes as another shiver ran through him, Gods he was cold.

"Hook, talk to me. What happened?"

"Fell" he said through chattering teeth

"Yes, very informative. I had figured that much out but what were you doing out of bed?"

In that moment Killian couldn't face David mocking his stupidity or the look of disappointment on his face so he lied... well, he embellished the truth.

"Nightmare" was all he said but the look on David's face was enough to know that it had worked and he wasn't going to ask anymore questions.

"You OK now?"

"Aye" was all Killian said but it was true as the extra blanket helped warm him again but the worry on David's face was still there and Killian suddenly felt ashamed of himself for having to wake the man. "Sorry"

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Now why don't you try going back to sleep?"

Killian just shook his head and David seemed to understand as he sighed heavily and sat down in the chair next to the bed.

"You want to talk about these nightmares?"

"Not really" Killian sighed again turning his head to meet David's gaze "Mate, you know more than anyone else what that damned God did to me, I'm sure you already have a pretty realistic idea what my brain is torturing me with every night. I will get over it... eventually."

"Well maybe this will help" David said with a grin as he stood up and reached for the gift at the bottom of the bed "It was Regina's idea but this is from Henry, it used to belong to Neal, you know Baelfire not the baby"

Killian was really confused now, what could it be? David handed the gift over and Killian just held it in his hand for a second trying to figure out what it was.

"Well open it then" David chuckled and it brought him back to himself.

"Aye, right" he chuckled back as he tried to peel back the wrapping. It was tricky but he finally managed to pull back the paper to reveal a beautiful dream catcher inside.

"Regina has put an enchantment on it so that if you hang it near your bed while you sleep it should take away the bad dreams and leave only the good ones. You were already sleeping last night when Regina showed up, it was quite late but maybe we could try it now?"

Killian didn't hesitate, he just handed the dream catcher over and watched as David hung it from the now empty IV pole.

"There. Now there's only one way to find out if this thing works. You need to sleep" David said turning back to him with a smile

"Easier said than done" Killian said with a groan as his ribs flared painfully when he tried to get more comfortable.

"I could get someone, you might have damaged something when you fell" David's worry was back but Killian knew that he hadn't.

"Not necessary, I am fine. It's just that sleep no longer holds the same allure as it once did"

David gently clapped a hand on Killian's arm and headed back to bed "You'll be fine. Trust in Regina Hook, if she thinks that the dream catcher will work it'll work"

"Flypaper for dreams" Killian muttered with a smirk

"What?" David asked in confusion as he settled himself back under his own blankets

"Flypaper for dreams...That's what Baelfire used to call them, Emma told me once. This particular one was hanging in Neal's apartment in New York, Henry must have taken it when they were there" Killian gave another heavy sigh as his gaze moved to the ceiling tiles once more "It's not fair is it? I mean Henry didn't deserve to lose his Father even if he did die a hero. I sometimes wish that it was I who had died and Baelfire who had lived, it would mean Henry would still have his Father. I know how I felt when I lost mine as a Lad and I never wanted that for the boy"

"So, what? Henry would still have his Dad but you'd be dead in Neal's place? You think that is the answer? That's all very noble but then he wouldn't have you and neither would Emma. Hook I think you underestimate what you mean to both of them. As hard as it was to say goodbye to Neal I think it would have killed Emma if she had lost you. She loves you more than she is willing to say, you know that right?"

Killian lay back and stared at the ceiling again, he did know it and a huge grin appeared on his face once more at the very thought of her.

"Aye and I her"

"Well stop being an idiot then and go to sleep" David chuckled as he lay back with a sigh

Killian closed his eyes as sleep tugged at him and he saw her face smiling up at him, for the first time since this whole thing started Killian embraced sleeps tight embrace and let it take him. He was with his Swan, she would keep him safe and no harm would come to either of them.

 **ONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIMEONCEUPONATIME**

It had really worked, he woke feeling refreshed to find the room full of happy faces.

"Killian, you're finally awake!" Henry grinned at him as he blinked his eyes a few times trying to figure out what was going on.

"Kid, give him a minute" Emma laughed as she stepped up next to her Son.

"He's fine Swan. What's going on?" he replied grabbing the bed controls to sit himself up a bit.

"We're just getting everything ready to go and making plans for this afternoon" she said with a grin

"Aye? So what is the plan for later?" he asked craning his neck to see what the others were doing. David was already dressed and looked more than ready to leave as he spoke animatedly to Mary-Margaret.

"That's for us to know" Emma teased.

David looked up at that point and grinned at him.

"Sleep well?"

"Aye and I believe I have you to thank for that Lad?" Killian replied turning back to Henry "Thank you"

"That's OK, I'm just glad it worked. " Henry grinned back "You ready to go home?"

"More than" Killian agreed with a chuckle

An few hours later he found himself being wheeled down the corridor by Emma after his discharge papers were finally signed. David and Mary-Margaret had left a while ago but Henry had stayed and as they finally walked out into the parking lot and the bright warm sunshine hit his skin Killian beamed from ear to ear as Henry chattered excitedly by his side.

"This is going to be so awesome, I can't wait until we get home." Henry burst out as Emma wheeled Killian up to her bug.

"Kid you need to calm down, Hook is going to need a lot of rest, you realize that you're probably going to have to be quiet for a lot of the time. He's gonna need a lot of sleep"

But Henry didn't even miss a beat, he just continued to smile.

"I know but the bits where he is awake are gonna be epic. I can't wait"

"I fear your expectations may be running away from you Lad, I am not that exciting" Killian chuckled

"Are you kidding me? You are Captain Hook... for a kid you don't get much more exciting than that, everyone at school is talking about it"

Killian just shook his head as Henry climbed into the back seat of Swan's vessel and settled himself in. Next it was his turn. It took a lot of maneuvering but he was finally sitting in his seat breathing heavily and clutching at his ribs as they pulsed in pain once more.

"You OK?" Emma asked as she slid into the seat next to him.

"I'm good." he replied with a tired smile "Now can we leave before someone changes their mind and makes me go back inside"

Swan started the engine and they were moving in no time, Killian closed his eyes and lent back in his seat just listening to the song on the radio as they traveled towards town. He must have dozed off because before he knew it they were pulling up to a stop but when he looked outside it wasn't to see the loft. He furrowed his brow in confusion, why were they in the woods?

"Swan?"

"Just wait and see. We don't have to stay long but my Dad wanted to do something and this was his idea of fun for some reason" she gave a shrug as she got out of the car and was followed seconds later by Henry.

A few minutes later he stood by the bug staring in awe at all the people who had gathered in the clearing. The sun was shining brightly and there were balloons and flags tied everywhere.

"Welcome home Killian" Henry yelled and the crowd of people all cheered and rushed forward to greet him.

There were so many people it was a bit of a blur but eventually Killian found himself being lowered into a very comfortable lounger chair. He had literally just sat down when a small table was placed within easy reaching distance and he was supplied with a drink and some snack food by a grinning David.

"Welcome home Hook" he beamed

"Technically we are not home" Killian replied with a chuckle as he lifted the drink and peered inside the cup "Beer? Is this allowed?"

"I won't tell if you don't" David said quietly giving him a wink "One won't kill you Hook, relax and enjoy yourself. I'm about to start the fire then you are about to experience the best barbecue food in this realm and you know what that means don't you?"

"Nope" Killian smacked his lips as he swallowed down a mouthful of the delicious amber liquid "No idea Mate"

David sighed and rolled his eyes "Do you listen to anything I say at all? It means that once the food is done and we've all eaten our fill we can kick back, relax and FINALLY you can experience toasted marshmallows"

Killian chuckled as David grinned wider dropping down on to his knees to try and light the fire, he knew that the Prince needed this more than he did, while this whole thing had been hard on him it had been hard on David too and if this made him feel better who was he to complain.

"Looking forward to it"

The look on David's face was enough as he happily added some more kindling to the prepared wood. Killian looked about him, everyone was happy, the sun was shining. They had won another battle and everyone had lived to tell the tale.

He chuckled to himself, he had been in some tight spots in his life but since coming to live here he had really been through it, this town should really come with a health warning but as his eyes fell on Emma's smiling face he knew that he would never leave, not as long as she stayed here. His place was by her side and if that meant staying in Storybrooke where winters were hard and summers were short and danger lurked around every corner well so be it.

He had told her more than once that he was a survivor but what he hadn't told her was that she was his very own personal savior, she had saved him from himself and for that he would love her for the rest of his life and wherever she went he would be right there with her... living happily ever after.


	30. Chapter 30

FYI I've just posted new fic called "Never Drinking Again"

Hope you guys will check it out :)


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